Converting a heavily hacked board from 3.0.0. to 3.0.3. 50+ hacks installed

[SaN-DeeP]

Hi,

Before proceeding with the upgradation i would like to know your comments/suggestions before i mess with the upgradation. I have more the 50 hacks installed.

I have done lots of template changes as well .php file changes.
My board have gone bit slow after installing this lot of hacks and i would be happy to restore it to original state in process of upgradation https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/. I would like to give up totally remove around 25 hacks from the installed ones.

what you people recommend me ??. How exactly do i proceed with it ?
I have a HUGE Arcade as well, which i do not want getting affected by this.

How do i take care of my template changes ? and also .php files changes.

Waiting for some expereienced members for there comments.

Warm Reagard,
Sandy...

[Natch]

You will need a comparison program like Beyond Compare - I don't travel anywhere in vB-world without my PHP files set to open in Beyond Compare :D

Process:

1] get all your current vB fles downloaded into a fresh backup folder
2] extract the upload folder of your vB 3.0.3 to a clean folder

Now - do side by side comparisons of each file - any changes associated with hacks you should re-apply to your new 3.0.3 files.

3] stop your forum to retain integrity
4] create and download a fresh backup of your forum database

Upload your modified files, then run install/upgrade.php

5] most large hacks will have provided facilities to re-install templates if they have originally been installed into the MASTER style (this i feel is a kinda painful way to install tempaltes - I prefer to install templates into all styles that have no parent, but are NOT styleid = -1 - that's my AUD$0.02c)

Now you should be back up and running :) restart and then test everything :D

[SaN-DeeP]

thnx for your suggestiona Natch.

i am not sure about this line ?

5] most large hacks will have provided facilities to re-install templates if they have originally been installed into the MASTER style (this i feel is a kinda painful way to install tempaltes - I prefer to install templates into all styles that have no parent, but are NOT styleid = -1 - that's my AUD$0.02c)


can u pls. explain again..

Regards

[Natch]

eg> in the installed for your larger hacks (like the Arcade) it will have an uprade option to re-install Templates only ...

This is because when vBulletin is upgraded, it replaces the MASTER style with the default templates and wipes any custom templates installed into the MASTER.

However any templates installed into the Top level styles will be retained from one install to the next - which means less upgrading work eh?

[Jolten]

Actually.. all the upgrading I've done has retained all template modifications. Only php script changes and phrases needed to be redone.

And my site only has the default master style (that's been edited) and no other styles installed.

[13th_Disciple]

if templates have been modified, they won't be upgraded, as best i remember.. but if there were any changes to the templates on the vB side, you would have to make them yourself, Jolten.. however, thank goodness templates don't change that often.. :p

[Reeve of shinra]

If your looking to drop 25+ hacks - it may just be easier on to run the upgrade script and just re-hack those hacks you want to keep. 25+ hacks is alot but if you do it all at once before uploading the files, its not so bad.

[Rose]

Be careful with the Beyond Compare comparison (or Araxis Merge, or any other comparing software you use), especially if you're not comfortable with it. I won't make it sound hard, because I'm sure it isn't (I've only done it once and I can't recall the outcome offhand), but still be cautious.

Natch makes a good point in doing a backup before uploading the newly-upgraded files. But I'd recommend going even one step further and doing this on a testboard. Create a copy of your existing forum and db and upload the newly-upgraded files there first. If all works, then repeat the process on your existing forum. If not, you have a good chance of ironing out any kinks without harming your original board.

[SaN-DeeP]

Be careful with the Beyond Compare comparison (or Araxis Merge, or any other comparing software you use), especially if you're not comfortable with it. I won't make it sound hard, because I'm sure it isn't (I've only done it once and I can't recall the outcome offhand), but still be cautious.

Natch makes a good point in doing a backup before uploading the newly-upgraded files. But I'd recommend going even one step further and doing this on a testboard. Create a copy of your existing forum and db and upload the newly-upgraded files there first. If all works, then repeat the process on your existing forum. If not, you have a good chance of ironing out any kinks without harming your original board.
thnx Rose,

Natch makes a good point in doing a backup before uploading the newly-upgraded files. But I'd recommend going even one step further and doing this on a testboard. Create a copy of your existing forum and db and upload the newly-upgraded files there first. If all works, then repeat the process on your existing forum. If not, you have a good chance of ironing out any kinks without harming your original board.
I guess, it will be safe for me to follow this


Regards,

[SaN-DeeP]

I was able to Upgrade to 3.0.3 Perfectly without any problems :)

These are the steps followed by me : mebbe helpful for others.
Closed the Forums
Took a backup of my .php files, db and templates (downloaded the entire style, I only have 1 style) installed this style locally on old version i had :)

I overwrote all the .php files

I just left my header template and reverted rest all

Now, just adding the last few hacks, which i feel are the important ones to be added.

Vb rocks -> my 2 cents..
Sandy...

[Dean C]

I'm glad everything worked out for you Sandy :)

[Colin F]

what does everyone think about the idea to, instead of comparing your hacked files with the new default files, compare the old default files with the new default files. That way, you would actually just be making the same changes the devs made.
It's actually the same process, just the other way around..

[MGM]

yea, that way works too, and you'd just have to do the upgrade script and that's all... other than templates and phrases

MGM out

[Natch]

what does everyone think about the idea to, instead of comparing your hacked files with the new default files, compare the old default files with the new default files. That way, you would actually just be making the same changes the devs made.
It's actually the same process, just the other way around..
What would the purpose be of this ?

More to the point - what would be the difference between doing this (above) and overwriting your old defaults with the new defaults ?

The point of comparing your hacked files with the new vB retail files is that you get to see (if you know your forum) what changes you need to apply to benefit from the code upgrade without the need to re-hack!