upgrading vb3 to vb5
 

I have a very old forum that hasn't been updated since 10 years. What's the easiest way to upgrade from vbulletin 3.6.4 to the latest version ?

at first you should make a complete backup of all your files and database, because most of the vb3 addons won't work in vb4/5. also you will lose your style.

make sure your server supports the php- and mysql-version of your new software. next step is to deactivate all your addons, upload the new files and run the upgradescript.

then update all your addons. if there is no update for some of them, deinstall them and search for similar ones.

kinda easy when you have done it a couple of times, but it can be a big procedure when you have a very modified forum.

[ot]ps: i strongly recommend vb4 instead of 5[/ot]

Yes i have a very modded forum. But basically i want to start over, i want to delete all addons and reset the theme to default.

Do i need to upgrade from vb3 to vb4 and then to vb5 or can i do the vb3->vb5 update straight away ?

My advice and the advice of many in the vB community is, stay away from version 5.

why?

I can give you a big list of reasons but for something this important you should research it yourself.

Well that's not really helping me.

You already have two people who have posted in your thread, advising you to avoid vB5. What's your hurry, research it. Save yourself a mistake you cannot undo, and WILL regret. Many have and there is NO turning back to vB4 once you get 5. It's final.

Not easy to research something as vague as "don't go with latest version" when it's not backed up with any arguments. Not even a single hint or whatever. Sorry but that's not helping me at all. You don't need to detail all of the reasons, just give some hints so i can google it. For example if you said "vbulletin 5 doesn't have enough addons" or "vbulletin 5 has a problem with CMS" then i could just google about this subject.

So back to the subject...

I'm currently trying to decide wether i should upgrade my vBulletin board or switch to XenForo (if it is possible to upgrade from vb3 to XenForo).
I'm looking for a few specific features:
- Full responsive layout
- Possibility to tag users inside a reply using @username
- Notifications panels like on Facebook when someone reply to your post or tag you
- Preview of the topic's content when hovering on a topic's title (exactly like on XenForo)

Is it possible to get all of those features with vB4 or should i look at another software ?

Lol, it's easy to search all over and see that vB 5 is not recommended. The format and how it looks isn't pleasing at all. Right now there are not a lot of modifications out there for vB 5, which is why the others in here said to stick with vB 4. vB 4 is the smartest thing to move to right now till they add in the functionality back that will allow mod authors an easier time to create mods.