Upgrading a pretty heavy modded forum from 3.6.10 to 3.7.0 GOLD

[BozzaJos]

Hello vBulletin fanatics,

Recently, I've upgraded my forum from 3.6.8 to 3.6.10. Even though I am a big fan of upgrading, I am always afraid something will go wrong while performing an upgrade. This is perhaps because my knowledge about php/mysql/vbulletin is pretty limited and every error is Chinese for me hehe. Upgrading to 3.6.10 went fine and everything is still working. I am running a site with 55,000 members and over 35 mods installed. Some small (thread started by, sticky thread mark-up, separate sticky and normal threads, pm quick reply) and some big (awards system, vbookie, ibproarcade, downloadsII) are installed. Now I think it is time to upgrade to 3.7.0 GOLD but I've read that a lot of mods don't work with 3.7 anymore and so I'm even more afraid that this might mean a lot of problems. Not only because of the installed mods but also the template/style I am using was last updated for 3.6.5.

I would like to know from you guys what the best way is for me to upgrade to 3.7.0. Like I previously said, my knowledge about all of this is pretty limited but I have something in mind that might be the best way for me to upgrade. I wanted to share it with you guys and see if you agree or that it can't be done like this and in that case, perhaps you can show me an alternative way.

I thought of installing vBulletin 3.7.0 GOLD in a subdirectory with a new mysql database. Install all the mods I have installed (I can easily check them since the current forum is still up and running) and install a 3.7 style. This way I can see what mods aren't working with 3.7 and see if there's an updated version for it which does work with 3.7. After everything works and I've made all the template edits for the mods, I will edit the config.php file and change the mysql data to the one I use with the current forum. If everything works, I can delete the vBulletin files in the root and move everything from the subdirectory to the root.

Is this something that works and is it advisable? The reason why I came up with this method is because I wanted to have the possibility to check how the current site (3.6.10) has something set-up if I encounter any problems. If I upgrade my current forum and something doesn't work, I have nothing to rely on or to check out. Is it possible to have vBulletin installed twice and make use of the same mysql database? Both forums will be disabled of course. But is it possible?

Would love to hear from you guys. Any tips, hits or ideas are more than welcome and much appreciated. This upgrade is a big step for me and I can't deal with a long downtime. Not for the members nor for myself.

Thanks in advance.

Take care,

Bozza