Converting SMF 1.1.4 to vBulletin
 

I'd like to convert my forum from SMF 1.1.4 over to vBulletin. I know there is a way to do this, but can it be done without losing everybody's passwords? I guess SMF has encrypted passwords, so normally after importing every user has to get their password reset. Can they be converted over to vBulletin's encryption to avoid this?

Heya!

SMF uses one way encryption to generate the password hash (sha1, unlike vBulletin, which uses md5), plus a rather pointless salt which is nothing else but the username in lowercase (last time we worked on SMF, at least).

So, to put it simply, there is no way to do it. The only passwords you can import in vBulletin from other systems are unencrypted ones or those that went through a single md5 encryption.

I just recently converted from smf 1.15, sure everyone had to reset their passwords but it really isn't that big of a deal, just send out an announcement giving instructions.. request lost password.. then follow the email instructions that is sent to you, pretty straight forward :)

Right, in addition to the announcement in the forums, you could also have a very simple script to reset all passwords and mail them out in batches!

That's fairly common with such conversions. When I used vBulletin's Impex conversion utility to handle MyBB to vBulletin 3.7.x, some passwords took, some didn't. I sent out a mailing, did a few manual resets for members, and we were up and running quite quickly with few glitches.

Peace,
Gene

Hello!

I recently upgraded from a version of SMF 1.1.2. Yeah, everyone had to reset their passwords, but without a doubt my users are alot more happy with VB than they were with SMF. I just sent an announcement to all users after the new board was up explaining the issue, and included a little information about the PW recovery process.

One word of not though,, To be honest, expect to get at least a dozen or so requests to set temp passwords for your users.. When we changed over we had some swear up and down they never got the email for PW recovery, and we had ot set temp passwords for them. No big deal really, and I can imagine it'd be a common thing.

Part of the problem is that people fail to update their email addresses or the notices are consigned to the spam folder.

Peace,
Gene

It is best to involve the members in an early stage (ie. on the "old" board) informing them of what will happen, urging them to ensure their email is valid etc..

I've been running SMF for a few years now, but would like to convert to vBulletin. However, I would very much like to do so without losing my membership and years of history that I have in my forum.

If possible, could someone who has converted from SMF to vBulletin perhaps share their experiences, and perhaps some tips if possible.

<a href="http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html/impex" target="_blank">ImpEx Import System</a>