From 3.0.7 To 3.5 - Whats With My Database?
 

i'm about to upgrade to 3.5 but what should i do with my database?

now i've got alot of hacks installed on my vb 3.0.7, what i'd like to know is. should i delete some database tables? now my 3.5 wont have any hacks installed from the start, and the hacks that come later on are all supposed to start a-new without old database tables. so can i just delete the tables i dont need and then back up the entire database and import it to my new server with 3.5 installed? if so what tables can i get rid of? or what tables do i need to keep?

I suggest you first use ImpEx (downloadable from the members area, make sure read the stickied topics about it in the Import System forum at vb.com) to create a fresh clean 307 database. Then migrate to 3.5

they've got a software that cleans the database? wow... stunning... i hope that works on mine.

[MarcoH64 just made my day]

best is to BACKUP your actual production site, and make a BACKUP safe...

now you COPY your actual site on a different location and test the ImpEx with the backup, not your production site... or you may loose everything by error!

did i mention BACKUP !?

It's not a DB Cleaner. Essentially what you are doing is installing another instance of vB and importing you users, posts and threads, etc into it. This creates a clean DB because IMPEX will not import any DB modifications made by hacks.

i was running a vb 3.0.x with a whole lot of hacks on it. i now updated that board to 3.5, now i want to transfer my board to a completely new domain, i've already uploaded all the files neccessary (from the 3.5 rc2 release) onto my new domain. all i really wish to do is import the neccessary database tables. since i have so many hacks running (arcade/journal/image gallery) which i all wish to get rid of entirely, i just need the database tables from vbulletin (posts, threads, avatars, userinfo, members, etc).

my question, as i cannot get impex to work at ALL. is whether i could just export the neccessary fields manually and import them into my new board. or whether i really should use impex.

OPTION 1> if i dont use impex, which are the database tables i will need to export and then import into the new database on a different server in order to keep all i need? that being everything vbulletin usually caches without any hacks or such?

OPTION 2> if i should use impex, how do i get it to work? my current conflict is the following... i uploaded impex to the forum directory. now in my vbulletin admin cp, all i see is maintainance, and no import & maintainance... so i cant use it. and if i go to the .../impex/index.php file directly i get a database error.

somebody please help out.

Option 1 <-- save yourself a lot of downtime and headaches, and don't even try this unless you are an advanced expert.

Option 2 <-- AFAIK There is no ImpEx for 3.5 yet, it will become available after 3.5 goes gold. Like i said before, use ImpEx on your 3.0 board, then upgrade to 3.5