Save Forum Members

[OllieT]

Hi guys!

I'm somewhat of a vBulletin novice so sorry if this is a stupid question!

My forum is currently not working particularly well, so what I would like to do is delete it and install the newest version (3.8) giving me a fresh start.

However I was wondering if it is possible to save my members (so people don't have to sign up again) and also posts (not so important).

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Ollie

New question for you!

Had a brief look to help me understand and I'm not sure which mysql tables I need to back up to keep members and posts. Anyone able to give me a list of the ones I need?

Example...

does "(sitename)user" hold everything about the user? (name, password etc...)

Thank you

[sparklywater]

Go to your AdminCP, then under 'Maintenence' click on 'Database Backup' to back up your database.

Also you can use vBulletin's Support Ticket system to ask these questions.

[OllieT]

Go to your AdminCP, then under 'Maintenence' click on 'Database Backup' to back up your database.


Many thanks for the very quick reply!

So if I go ahead and backup my database as you have said, how would I then "import" that database back in after I have installed the new forum?

Ollie

[sparklywater]

That is a good question, and I would like to know the answer too.

--------------- Added 1228944232 at 1228944232 ---------------

I got this advice from vBulletin Staff:

The only consistently reliable method of backing up and restoring a database is with shell access via telnet or ssh. This is because backing up with a PHP script like that in the Admin CP or phpMyAdmin can result in PHP timeout errors and an incomplete backup file.

Please see the instructions here:

Backup:
http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html/maintenance_ssh_backup

Restore:
http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html/maintenance_ssh_restore

If you don't have telnet or SSH access, some people have reported success with these scripts:

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

[OllieT]

Thats great!

Thank you so much :D

Looks a little complicated but I will give it a shot.

Thanks again!

Ollie

EDIT:

New question for you!

Had a brief look to help me understand and I'm not sure which mysql tables I need to back up to keep members and posts. Anyone able to give me a list of the ones I need?

Example...

does "(sitename)user" hold everything about the user? (name, password etc...)

Thank you :D