Stupid Questions about License and Hosting

[MistyMeanor]

So I used to run a vBulletin many years ago. But a friend helped me get it all set up. I LOVED the vBulletin options and features above any other. However, I am thinking about purchasing the vBulletin 5 + Connect (many of my members will need to get on with their phones) and will probably get the installation package. Ugh! So much $$$!!! But anyway... I already have a webhost for a blog I have. I looked, and I don't think the PHP is high enough to run this. It is through Blue Host. I was looking at Host Gator, and it seems they have PHP5. But there are so many other things. All I know is I wanna be sure to get a host that will support my LARGE purchase I will be making.

My other stupid question is licensing... I forgot... is it a one-time fee? Or something I have to pay annually? or any other "fees" after the initial $399 purchase? (of course I knows it costs if you want to upgrade versions later, but aside from that... any other fees?

Thanks in advance!
Misty

[Wayne Luke]

Hello,

You need PHP 5.3.0 and MySQL 5.1.5 or higher to run vBulletin 5 Connect. Both Bluehost and Hostgator meet the minimum requirements for the software. With Bluehost, you'll need to tell the server to use PHP 5.3.X or 5.4.X in your cPanel. It will add the appropriate lines to your .htaccess file to enable the version you select.

Licensing is a one-time fee for the life of the major version. So you wouldn't pay anymore for vBulletin 5 after your purchase unless you purchase additional licenses or have us do multiple installs over time.

[MistyMeanor]

Hello,

You need PHP 5.3.0 and MySQL 5.1.5 or higher to run vBulletin 5 Connect. Both Bluehost and Hostgator meet the minimum requirements for the software. With Bluehost, you'll need to tell the server to use PHP 5.3.X or 5.4.X in your cPanel. It will add the appropriate lines to your .htaccess file to enable the version you select.

Licensing is a one-time fee for the life of the major version. So you wouldn't pay anymore for vBulletin 5 after your purchase unless you purchase additional licenses or have us do multiple installs over time.

Oh Wayne, thank you SO much for the information and happy I don't have to sign up for yet another web host, I can just add this site to the one I have already. But I am not SUPER techy, and not sure what you mean by needing to "tell the server to use PHP 5.3.X or 5.4.X in your cPanel." How does one do this? LOL!

It's been a long time since I have been in the game! So basically I just point my domain name to the nameservers provided by the webhost right?

Oh Lord, I am feelings so dumb! What steps do I do first? I already have a free forum set up through Invision Free... I have their long url (free hosting for them) pointed to my domain www.nomusclesnolimits.com -- I JUST opened it, so no need to transfer anything - its not even been revealed to my audience yet.

• Buy hosting
• Get them to do the cpanel however you said ?? -- Just email them before buying??
• point my domain name to the hosting nameservers ?
• Sometime during this, if I pay for installation... vBulletin does the rest for me?

Sorry I sound like a total NOVICE, BUT haven't done all this in about 10 years! SOMEHOW I got the free one set up! LOL!

[MistyMeanor]

Oh! Actually I logged in to my Blue Host, and found where I could change the PHP... I changed it to PHP 5.4

It offers other add-ons... do I select any of these?

PHP 5.4

All files with the extension .php will be handled by the PHP 5.4 engine.

Latest version of PHP.

Note: Zend Guard Loader currently not supported.

Additional extensions available for Installation

Http Imagick Magick Wand Mail Parse OAuth OCI8 Upload Progress IonCube SourceGuardian

[rudedog1968]

Be aware that many of the features you may have been use to are not part of vB5 "yet" but are planned for upcoming releases. vB can't tell you when those will be included as they are only "planned"

vB also does not recommend using vB5 on a large forum and it's still in "limited use only" mode. However you can still download and use the older unsupported versions of the software but if your users use ie10 then there may be some issues.

I would test the software out buy using the demo located up top, or by seeing what other users are doing with vB5 by searching google for the term:

Powered by [URL="https://www.vbulletin.com"]vBulletin™[/URL] Version 5.0.2

Just make sure you check the site out as most have moved back to version 3, 4 or some other software that works.

good luck and remember that you can not ask for a refund after you download the software, even if vB support can't get it installed or working

[Mark.B]

However you can still download and use the older unsupported versions of the software but if your users use ie10 then there may be some issues.

vB4 is not unsupported.

[OhioDave]

He never said it was, paranoid much?

[MistyMeanor]

Thanks to all!! I also contacted pre-sales support and I KNOW I want to use vB4! I was NOT pleased with navigating around the vB5 demo and didn't like how it worked. Didn't really like how it looks either. The vB4 is much closer to what I used almost 10 years ago... don't even know what version those were, but they were old! LOL! The last question I sent to pre-sales (which they also told me I'd probably be better off going with v3 or v4) that I guess I am going to pay for installation because I have no idea how to install the board on my host, and that do I just tell them I want v4? Or is it something EASY in the forum control panel or something that I can change myself?

[RHarbison]

Misty, I'd go with VB4, as VB3 is reaching the end of its life and I think support is ending soon.
Bulletin isn't really that expensive when you think about it. You purchase it once, and you don't have any additional fees until the next edition. I use the program a lot and really like it. How much do I like it? Well, I just bought my seventh license today. I bought VB5 (you have no other choice), but I'm installing it as VB4.
As for installing, it's gotten much easier! If you know basic suff like ftp and doing a bit of basic editing, you're good to go. I recall the "good old days" where you had to manually mess with permissions and it wasn't nearly as friendly about teling you what the errors were when you encountered them. l

[MistyMeanor]

Misty, I'd go with VB4, as VB3 is reaching the end of its life and I think support is ending soon.
Bulletin isn't really that expensive when you think about it. You purchase it once, and you don't have any additional fees until the next edition. I use the program a lot and really like it. How much do I like it? Well, I just bought my seventh license today. I bought VB5 (you have no other choice), but I'm installing it as VB4.
As for installing, it's gotten much easier! If you know basic suff like ftp and doing a bit of basic editing, you're good to go. I recall the "good old days" where you had to manually mess with permissions and it wasn't nearly as friendly about teling you what the errors were when you encountered them. l

Hey there! Thanks for your reply!

Off topic for a second: but am so excited because I looked in my private messages from years ago and found old messages from a guy here that helped me a TON back in the day... Noppid is his handle. Anyway, I sent him a PM and hope maybe to reconnect with him... he was a lifesaver to me years ago!

Yes, I am going with VB4... you are right about cost... I just really don't want to have to pay the $149 for installation because that, along with the board, is a LOT of money for me, for a forum that I don't even know for sure will be successful, ya know? But no... FTP is something I was never able to grasp well. I am doing good to be able to point nameservers these days because I have been out of the loop for so long! I remember back in the day it was WAY hard to install, and I remember all the permissions and crap, and SQL database stuff! My buddy Noppid helped me a lot back then though... he helped me back up my forum and add hacks and stuff. So I guess I need to tell whoever installs this for me, wether paid help, or a friend, to install it as VB4 right?

[MistyMeanor]

Ok! Got the hosting locked down and talked to their support as well to make sure it had EVERYTHING vBulletin said it needed. Now the ONLY thing I need to know from SOMEONE is does anyone know what I need to do in order to get it installed as a vB4? I am waiting on JUST THAT to pull the trigger and make my purchase. Anyone out there willing to install it for me as a vB4 after I buy it so I don't have to spend another $149!! My hosting only allowed for paying for 12-36mos all at once! Didn't realize this, so that cost me over $200! I thought it would come out monthly... so running low on money now... but I want to get this up and running AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!

[OhioDave]

You download vB4 from the members area and upload those files to install at is vb4.

edit: Protip, never buy hosting for more than 1-2 months at a time.

[MistyMeanor]

OhioDave: Thanks for the information, but you might as well be speaking Chinese to me! LOL! I have no idea how to do any installing... Sounds like downloading vB4 from the members area is simple enough, but I have no idea how to upload those files and install it.

[OhioDave]

Do you have/know what a FTP program is?

If not get FileZilla

Your host should have sent you connection details
Enter them in to the host name, username, and password fields.
Press connect
Double click the public_html folder

Next download vB4 from the members area, unzip it (usually right click and it'll say something like extract files)
next open the folder it just extracted and look for the upload folder.
Open the upload folder, and select all the files inside it.
Transfer them via FTP to your server (you can usually drag and drop them)
Wait for the upload to finish

if you can make it that far, let us know we'll walk you through the next final steps.

[MistyMeanor]

OMG... I am so scared OhioDave! When you say connection details, do you mean all the stuff on the left hand side of my host cPanel? The part that shows your username, home directory, and all that stuff? -- I am using a Mac... someone said I read on here that I will have to do something to show hidden files? Know anything about that? I am thinking about attempting it... if I screw up, can I still get that installation help after I purchase it

[MistyMeanor]

I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!! I just found all my login info for vBulletin... I saw this license sitting there and clicked on it. It is a jewelry design forum I apparenly started in 2006. Running version 3.5.0! I don't even remember doing this! How I did it?! I don't even remember setting it up! No I am not a drinker, old, or on drugs either! This is crazy! I must have just started it and then kind of never went back! I am trying to figure out my log in info right now so I can get into the cPanel and see what all features it has. How far is this from the latest vB4? I wonder what features I will be missing. But looks like I have the options of either using this board and re-designing it, or getting a small discount on upgrading it to vB4... www.silvermiststudios.com/forum