Migrating vB5.x to vB4.x

[EricGT]

I have a site that I recently started using vB5 and I'm not happy with the vB software. I would like to roll the site back to the vB4.x development branch of the software. I know there is no official and direct method of retrograding back to the previous branch of the software, but is there any viable solution to doing so?

As I mentioned, this is a new site that opened earlier this week using vB5.x, so there is no backup to roll back to. There are only 250 or so members and 3,000 or so messages so far, but I would really like to go to the vB4.x version of the software without losing anything. Any ideas? Thanks.

[Dave]

I'm afraid there's no easy way to do this, it will require custom scripts/database queries to move everything back to the appropriate tables and this can be a significant amount of work. Even for small forums/databases.

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=306412
https://www.vbulletin.com/forum/forum/vbulletin-5-connect/vbulletin-5-connect-questions-problems-troubleshooting/vbulletin-5-support-issues-questions/426917-advice-for-downgrading-from-vb5-to-vb4

[EricGT]

The GConverter service and migrating first to Invision Board and then back to vB4.x both seem like viable options. I appreciate the input. Most of the info posted on this subject is several years old and the consensus is that it is quite impossible. I figured that there must be a migration path that someone has developed.

I've been using this site for years and it has been an invaluable resource for me. I appreciate what you folks do here. Eric

[TheLastSuperman]

You can check, not sure if phpBB has an importer that will bring over 5.x but the method to bypass being on 5.x when you realized you actually wanted 4.x was to:

- Import vB5 into another software such as phpBB or IPB.
- Import the new/different software into vB4.

You may run into issues or not it just depends on how you go about it.

[final kaoss]

I'm afraid there's no easy way to do this, it will require custom scripts/database queries to move everything back to the appropriate tables and this can be a significant amount of work. Even for small forums/databases.

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=306412
https://www.vbulletin.com/forum/forum/vbulletin-5-connect/vbulletin-5-connect-questions-problems-troubleshooting/vbulletin-5-support-issues-questions/426917-advice-for-downgrading-from-vb5-to-vb4

See why everyone is turning away from vbulletin lately? Due to small instances like this that add up over time. Impex needs to be updated & modern. Simply no excuse not to when other companies keep their converters up to date. The only reasonable & acceptable excuse not to update it would be laziness.

[Mark.B]

See why everyone is turning away from vbulletin lately? Due to small instances like this that add up over time. Impex needs to be updated & modern. Simply no excuse not to when other companies keep their converters up to date. The only reasonable & acceptable excuse not to update it would be laziness.

Yes, because companies deciding not to do something are full of "lazy" staff, as opposed to, perhaps, the company taking a rational business decision that not to do something that might not be financially viable.

[final kaoss]

Yes, because companies deciding not to do something are full of "lazy" staff, as opposed to, perhaps, the company taking a rational business decision that not to do something that might not be financially viable.

If vbulletin can't keep up with the competition, why should we stick with vbulletin? And yes I think it leaves an impressionable result on someone wanting to switch to vbulletin from a different forum software but can't due to an outdated importer.

It may seem like a small issue but small issues add up over time.

[Mark.B]

If vbulletin can't keep up with the competition, why should we stick with vbulletin? And yes I think it leaves an impressionable result on someone wanting to switch to vbulletin from a different forum software but can't due to an outdated importer.

It may seem like a small issue but small issues add up over time.
That isn't directly related to what I just said.

ALL businesses make decisions based on cost on return on investment. There would be a cost to redeveloping ImpEx, I don't know the actual reasons but I suspect it's likely they decided that committing the resources needed (which would be substantial) was not worth the time and the money based on what they'd get back from doing it. It could also be, to take another possible scenario, that the company decided it doesn't want to target conversions form other software and instead wants to target brand new forums. A lot more resources are required to provide support for conversions, when compared to new sites.

I have no idea if any of the above scenarios apply in this case. What I do know however is that when companies take business decisions you don't like, it is not due to "lazy staff".

[Stingray27]

Simply no excuse not to when other companies keep their converters up to date. The only reasonable & acceptable excuse not to update it would be laziness.
This is nonsense, there are many perfectly good reasons, the most obvious of which is that IB basically gave it away a couple of years ago, its now open source. So the "lazy" people are anyone (inc you ;)).

[steviewonder44]

I would convert over to mybb 1.812, with merge, check your UTF-8, then
import into vbulletin 3.8 with the latest sept 2015 impex, import from mybb check
mybulletinboard 1.4 and import will be flawless, then upgrade to desired Vb 4.2X version
make sure you use php 5.4 with say vb 3.89, then change php version when ready to upgrade.