[Suite] Moving Servers

[lgpaul]

Hi,

I have a running version of vBulletin® v3.8.1 Patch Level 1 running ok.

I've got the new 4.0 and I want to do a fresh install on a new hosting server. Is it possible to migrate just the database form the old server to import it into the new one? (from v3.8.1 to v4.0)

I did the back up of the database but I can't see any option to import it into the new one.

Thanks,
Paul

[Trevor Hannant]

Here's the manual entry on moving servers:

http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html/main/moving_servers

If you've backed up the database to your server, simply download it with all of your files then upload it to the new server and follow the instructions above. Remember to delete the backup file copy of your database from your server(s) as soon as you no longer need them to ensure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands!

[lgpaul]

Before you give the answer I did the following:
1. backup the old database from phpMyAdmin
2. create a new empty database on the new server
3. restore the old database onto the new empty one
4. install fresh vBulletin CMS with a new database
5. use impex to import the records from the old database to the new one.

All the forums seems to be ok but there are issues:

The tags on the reply are not working, the paragraf functions on the reply are not working, icons on edit articles are not working.

Am I doing something wrong?

[Jerry]

ImpEx should never be used for this.

The instructions on how to dump and restore a mysql database here : http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html/main/moving_servers is the way to go.

Restore the backed up database, and then configure your vBulletin config.php to use it on the new server.

[lgpaul]

Thanks for all the answers

small problem, I don't have ssh access to the server so I cannot do the backup with this method.
another one: the old forum was on a different path something like: vb.forum.com . on the new server I decided to install it in root not in a sub domain.

I did a backup old the old database in phpMyAdmin and move it to the new server. I did not transferred all the files from the old server. I did an upgrade instead a new install pointing at the database created.
All went OK but I cannot access control panel or the front page. It's all blank.

any suggestions?

p.s. I did try tools.php as well but no luck

[Trevor Hannant]

Thanks for all the answers

small problem, I don't have ssh access to the server so I cannot do the backup with this method.

Some users have reported success with the following scripts:

MySQLDumper:

http://www.mysqldumper.de/en/index.php

MySQLHotxcopy:

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=134821&highlight=mysqlhotcopy

Bigdump:

http://www.ozerov.de/bigdump.php

Personally, I've used Bigdump successfully in the past.

another one: the old forum was on a different path something like: vb.forum.com . on the new server I decided to install it in root not in a sub domain.

I did a backup old the old database in phpMyAdmin and move it to the new server. I did not transferred all the files from the old server. I did an upgrade instead a new install pointing at the database created.
All went OK but I cannot access control panel or the front page. It's all blank.

any suggestions?

p.s. I did try tools.php as well but no luck

Did you update the path in AdminCP > vBulletin Options > Site Name / URL / Contact Details before moving it to a different one? You are pointing to the new database rather than the old one still in config.php? Did you use vBSEO previously - if so, did you delete/rename the htaccess file and try again?

[lgpaul]

Trevor & Jerry

Many thanks for your time. I think I've got it sorted. Somehow, I lost the files from the old server...

The problem was with the smiles...
I did a fresh install and imported all the forums + users from the old database with impex and everything seems to be working fine

[lance77]

Hi everyone,

i have a related problem in a similar way

(1) in my old server, where my forum is in 3.8.x version,
using admincp, i backed up and downloaded this file - vbulletin.sql

(2) is this vbulletin.sql the same file as what i would get if i back up using PhpMyAdmin ?

(3) what should i do with vbulletin.sql?
load it into the new server using PhpMyAdmin?

(4) would impex be an easier way for me?
i'm not so concerned about the member database but i'm more concerned with the forum posts and threads as there's plenty of useful knowledge recorded in there...

(5) last question,
should i install version 3.8.X first in new server, import, then upgrade to VB4.0.1
or can i install VB4.0.1 straightaway and import the data?

[lgpaul]

I'am not a specialist but here is what I've done:

1. Backup the database (using admincp)
2. create an empty database on the new server
3. import the old database into the new one using using PhpMyAdmin.
4. install a fresh vBulletin 4.0 (with it's own database)
5. use Impex to import data from the new created database to vBulletin database.

Special remarks:
I imported only users, posts, and forum information. Did not import avatars and smilies. I did a few tests and I had a few errors in the functionality of the forum when I installed avatars and smilies.

everithing works fine... so far

[Trevor Hannant]

Impex is not an upgrade tool and should only be used to bring some values over to a new installation or merge installations. If all you're using the test site for is to make sure an upgrade goes OK and to style it, then do that and export your styles, upgrade your live site and import the style (along with any custom images for the style).

[lgpaul]

Trevor,

I've got the idea with Impex. All I wanted was the post and the users and a fresh install. It worked for me.

If you want to import styles, attachments, avatars etc, Impex is not the wright tool.

This was the simplest solution to my problem.