Migration of Customized 4.2.2 Forum to Standard 5.2.5?

[BirdOPrey5]

There are easier ways. Since no add-ons will transfer to VB5, no reason to worry about them on the test site, just disable hooks in the test site config.php.

I would follow instructions to create the test site, in folder called /vbtest/.

In the config.php file be sure to change the cookie prefix so there is not confusion that way either.

Make absolutely sure the test site is pointing to a separate database than the live site. If images/avatars are stored in the file system make sure the test site has their own copy of those as well.

Then do the VB5 upgrade (which includes removing all VB 4.x files from the /vbtest/ directory)

[gregory64]

Just wanted to say that I did successfully upgrade my customized 4.2.2 PL6 forum to 5.2.5. I did not wind up adding in the bootstrap-based custom header (referenced earlier in this thread) that I use on my top-site, and that decision was driven by the fact that when I did add it - it pushed the forum down a bit too far ... and I did not like the way that looked. So I wound up going with a more standard approach to the forum, and just changing colors, making minor adjustments here and there, etc.

I did purchase one year of tech support with the upgrade, and made use of it 5 times (I think) for fairly minor/easy issues. Each support ticket was responded to quickly - all in less than 24 hours ... and I really appreciate that.

I upgraded my test forum first (on a different domain, password-protected directory, etc.) ... made careful notes ... and so when it came time to upgrade the live forum, it all happened fairly mechanically, and without any surprises.

Purchased my upgrade license on 12/19/16, and successfully completed the live forum upgrade on 12/23/16.

So this upgrade was painless, and has resulted in a great, modern forum experience for my users and guests. Thanks to the vBulletin team for doing such a great job!