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susanne-amin
Starting Member
Egypt
5 Posts |
 Posted - 12 April 2007 : 08:43:18
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Ciao Snitz gurus,
I am running version 3.4.03 (yeah I know!) since 2001 or 2002 and have never done an upgrade.  www.cameldive.com/forum
We need to upgrade the forum but I am worried about the consequences if something unforeseen comes up in the process. I have very limited help here and wouldn't know what to do if I mess it up.
Can I safely just download the latest version 3.4.06? Are there any pitfalls?
Sorry but I am a total novice without any programming skills and the forum is very valuable to our site. We cannot afford to lose it.
Very grateful for any help / ideas / tips.
Cheers |
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HuwR
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
20584 Posts |
Posted - 12 April 2007 : 08:51:27
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Hi,
well, the best thing to do would be to first take a copy of all your existing files, that way if anything goes wrong you can simply put everything back.
once you have taken a backup of all your files, just download the latest version and follow the instructions in the readme. |
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AnonJr
Moderator
United States
5768 Posts |
Posted - 12 April 2007 : 08:52:59
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If you have not added any MODs or "personalized" the actual code (outside of setting up the connection string, etc.) upgrading is as simple as downloading the newest version and overwriting the existing files with the new ones and re-running setup.asp
As easy as it is, and as painless as it is, I always recommend having a backup copy of the original files "just in case" - and have a backup of your database for the same reason. The chances of something happening are slim, but its better to be ready regardless. 
I'd also write down your database connection information so you can edit the new config.asp appropriately. If you have any other questions or run into any issues, please let us know. We'll be here to help.  |
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susanne-amin
Starting Member
Egypt
5 Posts |
Posted - 12 April 2007 : 10:04:24
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You guys are great, thanks so much!
Does the latest version have some kind of built in block against the automated forum spammers? That's a major problem for me, and many others I suppose. We've had to prohibit new members and I encourage anybody who wants to join to email me and I sign them up by hand. Impossible in the long run of course.
Will back-up the files and try the new version. Fingers crossed! |
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HuwR
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
20584 Posts |
Posted - 12 April 2007 : 10:14:56
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quote:
Does the latest version have some kind of built in block against the automated forum spammers?
No, you will need to install a MOD to do that, have a look in the MOD W/Code forum, or do a search for spam or CAPTCHA |
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Hermes
Junior Member
Croatia
113 Posts |
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susanne-amin
Starting Member
Egypt
5 Posts |
Posted - 12 April 2007 : 10:20:55
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| Oh wow, so fast! Thanks very very much! Very grateful for your help. :) |
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Jusme
Starting Member
United Kingdom
6 Posts |
Posted - 12 April 2007 : 19:24:20
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hey you guys!
thanks for this info too!! really helpful!!
am currently mod'ing on a board that is also running 3.04.03 - www.plumpdjs.co.uk/forum
have been trying to persuade the company I work for to upgrade our forum as its getting really clunky, no-one has pruned it in years by the looks of it (just recently been given admin rights), we're also starting to get bot spam. I know how important it is to keep the system up to date, unfortunately however, Im having a bit of a job trying to convince the powers that be to get it sorted! 
anyhoo, Im trying to sort it as best I can, but Im not too sure where to start as I dont have access to the .asps on the web server which I presume you need to replace to implement an upgrade???
Also, the board is massively slow all the time now, so thought Id try archiving the posts to free up some space, but when I try to archive 2 of the forums, nada happens and the server seems to hang? would manual pruning resolve this issue do you think?
Also, could you give me some idea of how long it should take the web team to implement an upgrade and the process we would need to implement? Are there any help files available on this at all?
sorry for bombarding you guys with this, but if I can go back to mr bossman and explain why we should do this and give him some idea of the technicalities involved, with a bit of luck we can get the lushty board that is the plump forum sparkling again.
would massively appreciate any advice you could give me!
bests
Ju |
Edited by - Jusme on 12 April 2007 19:25:52 |
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AnonJr
Moderator
United States
5768 Posts |
Posted - 12 April 2007 : 21:52:29
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From a security standpoint alone it would be worth the time to upgrade. A lot of bug fixes and issues have been fixed between 3.4.03 and 3.4.06.
You will need access to the files on the server to do the upgrade and install any MODs or make any of the other code changes that are floating around to help cut down on the bots (like Shaggy's trick of making the Birthday required - there's also a MOD around here that will let you make any field required).
As for the performance issues, archiving will help immensely. If you've got a ton of old stuff, you may need to alter the page to start archiving in smaller chunks. Someone had the code floating around here to archive from 2 years back, and then work from there. It's probably timing out, and you may have some incomplete archiving as a result (a topic that is both archived and not archived) - there have been a few topics on finding if that is the case and how to deal with it.
If you are using an Access database, a compact and repair could help too - but you'd need access to the actual file.
As for how long it should take, I'll have to resort to the answer that infuriates my non-technical co-workers: It depends. It really depends on what's been done to the code already, what may need to be added "while your working on it", and how good they are at what they do.
I'm sure there's more I should add, but I'm exhausted and I haven't been sleeping well lately. Tomorrow is supposed to be a light day, and I should be able to add more if needed.
HTH. |
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Jusme
Starting Member
United Kingdom
6 Posts |
Posted - 13 April 2007 : 04:34:28
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With regard to archiving, yeah Im sure you're right! Would it be possible to increase the timeout to implement the housekeeping then restore it? there's a time out also affecting searching too...
what you described is definately what is happening, I archived everything that was older than 12 months on one forum, but was left with all the posts and an archive file :-S
Ill see if I can find the archiving code you mentioned :0)
thanks ever so much AnonJr!! |
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HuwR
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
20584 Posts |
Posted - 13 April 2007 : 04:49:32
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| increasing the timeout may help, but it probably won't and will possibly get you kicked of your hosting for hogging resources on the server. If you have access and your db is large enough/slow enough that you think it requires archiving then you should probably be looking at moving to mysql or MSSQL hosting rather than using an access db. Access is great, but only for small low usage sites or on a dedicated server that can supply it with the resources to work well. |
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Jusme
Starting Member
United Kingdom
6 Posts |
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susanne-amin
Starting Member
Egypt
5 Posts |
Posted - 18 April 2007 : 08:50:00
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Just want to thank everybody for their invaluable help.  Did as you said and everything now works fine. HuwR, CAPTCHA was exactly what I needed, thanks a lot for that idea too. What a relief to be rid of the spammers.
Maybe now I will have to courage to do my first archive of old posts since 2002! |
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AnonJr
Moderator
United States
5768 Posts |
Posted - 18 April 2007 : 09:52:28
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Glad you got what you needed.
If you have a lot of posts to archive, you may want to break it down into small chunks and work a little at a time so it won't time out on you. There's plenty of invaluable advice floating around here already regarding the ins and outs of archiving.
Good luck, and have fun! |
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susanne-amin
Starting Member
Egypt
5 Posts |
Posted - 18 April 2007 : 10:15:11
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Thanks for another fab tip, I would have just archived the last five years in one go and gotten stuck in time-out land forever!  Gotta spend more time around here, I clearly have a lot to learn.  |
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AnonJr
Moderator
United States
5768 Posts |
Posted - 18 April 2007 : 15:06:45
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| We all have a lot to learn. I've just scratched the surface, and I've only been around for the last year or two. Coming here every day does help though - you can learn a lot just by reading what's going on. |
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