help me to upgrade from v3.8.11 to v5.4.4

[mehedimw]

hello i want to upgrade my version from 3.8.11 to v5.4.4. i dont know how to do it. i need my document full safe. any one can help me please guide me. if possible make video tutorial it will very big help for me

[delicjous]

There is a vB5readme file in your downloaded version of vB5. Did you read that?

[twistsol]

Not to be harsh, but if you're asking this question, you aren't ready to upgrade a production site. Upgrading vBulletin is not like installing a new version of Office. It requires planning, testing, and feedback from your community. I've been managing software projects for over 30 years and the best way to fail is to do this by the seat of your pants without a plan.

What is in the upgrade document gives the basic steps to upgrade, not a detailed step by step plan. There is an assumption that you have access to your web server, have at the very least basic skills moving files around on the server, and have access to your database. Assuming all that, note that upgrading from 3.8.11 to 5.4.4 you WILL LOSE all your styles, and any extenstions or customizations you have.

A detailed step by step guide would be difficult if not impossible to produce since there are so many differences from one server setup to another.

My best advice would be as follows:

Determine why you want to upgrade. If it is to be on the latest version, then stop and don't go any further. If you have other valid reasons then:

1. Identify all your customizations and extenstions and find replacements for them if they are not already built into VB5.
2. Know that there won't be replacments for all of them and you may need to live without some functionality you have today.
3. Determine if you, and your users, can live without that functionality and decide if the upgrade still makes sense.

Once you've decided to proceed with the upgrade, create a backup of your database and site files and use those to build a test environment to practice your upgrade. The very first time I did this I went from 387 to 422 and practiced it over a dozen times until I could get it upgraded in about 4 hours. That upgrade plan had over 100 individual steps.

Document in excrutiating detail the steps necessary to upgrade and differences, if any, between the steps in your test and production environments.

Decide if you will build, buy, or use one of the built in styles for your site.

Once your test upgrade is done and the way YOU like it on your test site, open it up for a few select users of your site to look around and poke at it. There will be stuff you may have missed, things you like that they hate etc. Take their feedback seriously and adjust your test site as necessary.

Now you're almost ready to upgrade your live site.

Add to your upgrade plan the necessary steps to restore your site to pre upgrade condition if everything goes to hell.

Upgrade your production site and good luck to you. If you have specific questions and need help as you go along, ask here and you'll get plenty of help

[arnego2]

+1 listen to the man.

And why would you upgrade, public opinion is in favor for vbulletin 3 -4 vs 5 which is, let's say limited.

[In Omnibus]

Originally Posted by arnego2

+1 listen to the man.

And why would you upgrade, public opinion is in favor for vbulletin 3 -4 vs 5 which is, let's say limited.

vBulletin 5.x is not "limited." That's the nonsense that comes from people who either don't use it or expect free modifications to do everything for them. There's a laundry list of things that can be done in vBulletin 5 that cannot be done in 4.x or 3.x versions. The question is always going to be about what the individual end user needs and wants out of forum software. There is no "one version is better than another" but there is a "one version fits my needs better than another."

[arnego2]

Originally Posted by In Omnibus

vBulletin 5.x is not "limited." That's the nonsense that comes from people who either don't use it or expect free modifications to do everything for them. There's a laundry list of things that can be done in vBulletin 5 that cannot be done in 4.x or 3.x versions. The question is always going to be about what the individual end user needs and wants out of forum software. There is no "one version is better than another" but there is a "one version fits my needs better than another."

Could be, the guy who told me that 3.8 was best has a few forums though and I trust him.
What I can't find in vb5 is how to limit users with under 30 Comments to lie links. There is more I would like to adjust and I'm willing to pay for it.