Tutorial: Upgrade your hacked board in less then 30 minutes
 

This tutorial is [high]vBulletin.org and yqed.com (why queued) copywrited[/high]. All rights reserved.
Please ask permission in this thread to copy the tutorial. If granted, post a link that points to this page.

We all have all kind of hacks installed in our boards, or else you wouldn't be reading this thread, right? ;)
Here is it my tutorial on how to upgrade your VB board in less then 30minutes.

TOOLS NEEDED
Araxis Merge (for more info, visit www.araxis.com)
I use the evaluation version for now, but this will be my next purchase. Is worth every penny.

PROCEDURE
[high]STEP 1[/high]
01. Extract your new zipped file that you downloaded from Member's Area to a unique folder and dispose the files in the same manner as you have them on your web server.
I named that folder [high]vbNEW[/high].
For example, you should have your folder tree like that:
02. Create a new unique folder called [high]vbOLD[/high] (your actual version that you want to upgrade from).
Copy there ALL your .php, .js files that you currently have (hope you alwyas keep the .zip file).
Your folder tree should look like that:
[high]STEP 2[/high]
01. Open Araxis Merge and press CTRL+D. It will start a new folder comparison.

02. Browse for folder location in each compare area. I selected the vbNEW in the left side and vbOLD in the right one.

03. Press the button Refresh. Araxis will start to compare the files one by one and show you the changes in colors.

[high]STEP 3[/high]
Let's see the changes that occurred in db_mysql.php file, for example.

01. Click on the db_mysql.php file name to highlight it.

02. Press CTRL+M to launch the file comparisons. A new window will open and Araxis will highlight all code changes.

03. Copy the highlighted code onto your actual vBulletin hacked file.
NOTE: Repeat this procedure for every code change that you see highlighted.

[high]FINAL STEPS[/high]
If you are not sure 100% of what you are doing, use the upgrade system provided by Jelsoft and reinstall manually the hacks again.
Araxis is a great tool for comparing the files ONLY.

Once done, test the new code on your test board. if everything is OK, upload your files to your live web site.
You are done. ;)

Thanx nakkid :) We may try it next time we upgrade our board ;) Good Job!!

Great, thanks for the tutorial.

Yes...very nice tutorial...thx!

thankyou for the tut, when vb 2.2.6 is available for us members, I will definetly give this a try

This should be listed as a sticky thread. A lot of new hackers will want this kind of information when things get upgraded, I wish I would have had this info a while back instead of discovering it myself, it would have saved me a lot of time.

I just purchased Araxis Merge Professional v6.0. Great program, i love it. :)

i will do it next week. damn lesane... you are always faster then me. :)

i use beyound compare, but im ganna download this and see if its any better ^^

i use beyond compare, an my update procedure is something else

i extract the unchanged vb i use (say 2.2.5) and compared it with the one on my server with the hacks.

so i'm sure i find every line i have changed.

after that i copy the changed lines into the new files.

it takes a bit more time, but you can be sure not to forget a line you have changed nor to overwrite some new code with the old code.

but a good tutorial nakkid, because it is very fast to update this way

sweet! :)

that's exacly what araxis does. and is automatized. no need to search for it, it will do it for you, instantly. :)

Beyond Compare does that, too. Xenon is just being extra careful.

hehe :lick:

Thanks for the tutorial.

It would help also if there's a tutorial for upgrading modified templates.

actually there is one. search for firefly's hack: template backup system. :)

I got a big problem...
this program is for Windows...
and the server where i host the boards is linux mandrake.. and the only way i can get connected is via ssh...
any suggestions???

if you can ftp to it to upload the files, you are ok. do you run windoze as OS or linux in your pc?

thanks nakkid for this great tutorial. I will download Araxis Merge Trial and test it... Maybe I buy it :)

I used Beyond Compare when I did mine :rolleyes: (I don't know about this one, but with Beyond Compare, you can set it up to connect to your server and do it that way)

Thanks for the tut nakkid, good work, I've have to update my board now :D

Not all of us have the available funds to purchase programs like those, so we're reliant on others providing manual upgrades from version to version (to whom we're eternally grateful, let me say!).

<a href="http://www.scootersoftware.com" target="_blank">Beyond Compare</a> is free. It's what I use =P

actually is shareware. i like alot better araxis due to his speed and flexibility. however, beyond compare is a good tool also.

And what happens when the shareware version expires? Like I said, not everyone can afford to buy a program to do upgrades to their forums only once in a while. It's not a justifiable expense when there are more important things to pay for (like hosting fees and bandwidth costs).

well, i asume that you like VB and that you going to use it forever. hacks will always be here. i think the price is nothing comparing with the time you save. if you can afford to pay 100$ in hosting/year you can also afford a good piece of software.

when i go out in one night with my wife on a club, i spend more then 124$. so for me is nothing. think of it as an investisment in your work.

As I said, there are more important things that need paying for before a program that you'll only use once or twice in a blue moon.

As good as it may be, it's not something that you'd use with enough regularity to justify the expense.

no problem. then you will have to go through the classic way. save the documentation for your hacks and every time you upgrade, you must check every file manually. is time consuming but have the same results. :)
jelsoft upgrades it's software almost every month. if you spend 2hours/month to upgrade your board for 20$/hour (average php tech-troubleshooting charge), that's about 400$/year you save.

i must add that firefly uses this piece of software also and he thinks (i quote) "is a life saver".

Thanks SOOO much for this Nakkid. Even though it took me far more then 30 minutes, it was sure a time saver :) This is a god send for anyone upgrading their board, I'm going to stick this :)

wow! everyone seems to love your tut nakkid....

congratulations...

I have read the thread, now, let us see how this will work!

Excellent tut, Nakkid!!

Yes, I'd have to agree with you. Software might seem like a lot, but I could spend as much money simply by going out for dinner [at a fancy restaurant :)], and I should also say that I have purchased Photoshop 7.0, even though it might seem quite expensive to some :p

Another thing... which do most of you guys think would be better .. purchasing Beyond Compare, or Araxis Merge? :smoke:

I used Araxis to upgrade my forums but the version at the bottom of each page still shows the old version, is there anyway of fixing this ? Also the CP still says I should upgrade to 2.2.6

Any ideas?

you still have to run the upgrade...

Excuse my ignorance :D How do I run the upgrade? And what is the file called? LOL! Won't running the upgrade change any of the files?

upgradeXX.php. once you edited all you files, run that file.

@Massiel: You must run the correct files for upgrading to version 2.2.6 of vBulletin. You can find the correct information here: http://www.vbulletin.com/members/upgrade.html

:)

I just wanted to thank you Nakkid, for taking the time to post about this! I followed your instructions in my forums and it worked like a charm. :D I am having trouble with some hacks that stopped working but no biggies, I will figure them out in time! Thanks for everything!!! :)

Blak I upgraded them all in order :D Thanks!

np Massiel.. glad it works :D

And BTW, where is the vBulletin copyright in the footer? :ermm:

You know someone did that style for me and they took that out, if you don't mind telling me how to put it back on I will... I have other templates and they all have it, but not the main one!!