Migration phpBB to vB

[Zylantex]

Hi, I'm trying to migrate a forum with about 30 users and 5000 posts from phpbb 3.1.9 to vBulletin 4.2.2 using Impex.

In theory it should be easy but in practice it's breaking my heart. My host, Netfirms, is running php 5.3 and MySQL 5.6.32

Can this be done or am I doomed? Any suggestions please? Thanks.

[WEBDosser]

Don't forget to backup everything first.

What problems are you having?.

[Mattwhf]

Hi, I'm trying to migrate a forum with about 30 users and 5000 posts from phpbb 3.1.9 to vBulletin 4.2.2 using Impex.

In theory it should be easy but in practice it's breaking my heart. My host, is running php 5.3 and MySQL 5.6.32

Can this be done or am I doomed? Any suggestions please? Thanks.

I don't see any problem with php 5.3 and MySQL 5.6.32 to run vB4

If you want, you can upgrade your PHP and MySQL to higher versions in minutes.

[Zylantex]

I've backed up everything first. :up:

In the To/From selection in Impex I choose PHPBB3 and vB 4.2.2

When I run the convertor I see messages that mention phpBB 3.0.3 and I suspect there is where the problem starts. I'm running pbpBB 3.1.9 I can only imagine they are not 100% compatible.

If I ignore the messages and proceed I get a sort of half successful conversion but no attachments. Our forum depends on the attachments so this is a deal-breaker.

Would I have any success if I were to try to convert to 3.8.9 and then update to 4.4.2?

Another issue I faced was I got an error from my host saying more or less that the database was being hammered, it looked like a DOS attack, and I had to stop work and wait for the database to come back online. In the meantime this closed the forum which didn't go unnoticed by the users.

Edit I think there are limits on the Impex software that won't let me upgrade PHP / MySQL.

[TheLastSuperman]

Since you own a vB4 or 5 license, you can also download vBulletin 3 ;).

Want to avoid impex issues? Always go this route with older forums software i.e.

- Install vBulletin 3.
- Impex (import) from phpBB3 to vB3.
- Upgrade vB3 to vB4.

Extra steps yes however if you've been around long enough like most of us, you'll recall many threads and posts saying pretty much the same thing. Doing it that way should cause less issues for you but does require an extra step.

[RichieBoy67]

Superman is right on here. Import to Vb3 first and then upgrade. That is the easiest way to import though this will not correct your server resource usage which is causing the issue that your host is saying is a ddos attack. The issue there is most likely your shared hosting account does not have the resources needed to accomplish the import.