Fresh start
 

I'm not sure if this is the right place but I have a bit of a complicated situation.

I installed vb 3.5.4 about a year ago. I modded it up with all the things I needed/wanted. I was new to the world of forums as well as PHP and anything outside of HTML really.

Along the way alot of my templates got out of whack from me hacking away at them. Then I went away for 5 months where I couldn't reach my site (aka I'm in the military). When I got back the newer version was out and I don't want to update without knowing what mods will move over plus I'm not sure how to update perfectly and with my templates the way they are I'd probably screw something up.

What I'd like to do is wipe it all clean, install the newest version and start over. I figure this will be good because it needs an overhaul for starters and while I was gone the membership was lagging and kinda died. However, I wanna keep all the posts, members, photos, etc that are there.

A) What's the best way to get this back on track? B) Anyone here in the mood to assist?

edit: Let me add that I don't have a ton of money to drop on this but i understand this is a large task and nobody is going to help for free. So message me or reply here so we can talk about an offer to help vs some payment options. Thanks.

If you want an absolute fresh start, it's really quite simple: upload fresh vB core files (PHP Files) and create a new default template for the latest version.

If you have any Products installed, remove them if you so desire.

install which version? 3.5.4 or 3.6.x? I apologize but I was JUST learning all this as I deployed so I'm basically starting from scratch in my knowledge of this as well so I need someone to outline it for me. Once I'm hands on, it's not really a problem. I just want a path clearly outlined for me to make sure i'm on the right track.

Upgrade to whatever the latest version available to you is. There is additional documentation on upgrading in the vBulletin Online Documentation: http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html/upgrade

But the basic process is to upload the contents of the "upload" directory from the latest version you download off the Member's Area; then run the Upgrade script by going to: http://yoursite.com/forum/upgrade.php.

The process is fairly straightforward after that.

should i uninstall and mods I have put in and then do the upgrade to get a fresh brand new copy (with existing database)?

and then put the 3.6 version of mods back in after?

Many 3.5.x modifications will work with 3.6.x. They should be fine left installed while you're upgrading.

If you Really want to start off fresh, this is what I've done.
Install a new vBulletin board and use impex to import the info from one forum to another.

right, but i was hoping to do an install that would leave me with fresh templates, that means that all the template mods i put in woujldn't be there. an upgrade will keep those changes or provide fresh copies of the templates?

If you want to use the default vBulletin template, after you upgrade just go to Style Manager -> Add New Style -> Fill out a Name (Can be whatever) -> Save; it will create a new fresh style using the latest default XML.

so just isntall it to a new directory on the server with a clean database and then import the old one over and that will take users, posts, attachements, etc. makes perfect sense.

question... will that work between such different versions such as 3.5.4 to 3.6.8?