phpBB mods, or not?

Author Comment
User avatar

Posts: 825

Maybe a strange question, but I need to update several phpBB boards. Never done an update yet so am a bit nervous, but .....

How does one know whether there are any mods?

User avatar

Admin

Posts: 11073

One would know by having installed them.

Often though, we take over where someone else has left off. There is no practical way to know for sure. One can go to the .MODS tab and look. One can go to the AutoMOD tab and look. These will only tell you the MODS that have been installed using AutoMOD though. If a MOD was manually installed or a core file edited, it will be like looking for a needle in a haystack. These are likely to be the biggest source of problems in an upgrade.

You should also look at your style. If the style is standard Prosilver or Subsilver2, then you will be fine. If it is any other style, it must be updated manually. I say *must* because a style's templates are integral to the working of the forum and things *will* break, if an out of date style is used.

It also depends on what your start and end points are. I would do a simple phpBB 3.0.11 to 3.0.12 upgrade, including one custom style for around $30. If the upgrade is 3.0.10 to 3.0.12 with one custom style, the cost increases to $40-50. Lots of MODs *may* increase the cost but also may not.

If you really do not know what state things are, you can apply a fresh set of files of the same version you have to your data BUT your data should be in the standard format otherwise stuff will break. I guess looking at the database structure will also clue you in as to any MODs.

As may be expected, the more you do in a run, the quicker you get. It is very possible to half the time taken or better after you have run through a few.

There is tedium involved too. One should back up all files and data immediately before the upgrade. The upgrade process should be carefully planned to minimize downtime. My normal method would be to just upgrade in-situ and the board would be down for a couple of minutes (but I would leave a message saying 5 mins). This is just the time while critical changes are made and is only a part of the longer process. I get the board up and there may be some breakage to be attended to, which is unimportant to basic function. Each update needs to be assessed for how best to approach as the approach will vary depending on the version changes.

In the end, with an unknown board, the safest thing to do would be set up the board on your home server and do the upgrade there. Once you are sure everything works, you can upload the files to the live version.

The answer: it depends.

I am more than willing to look at these and do them for you.

User avatar

Posts: 825

This is not top priority for me though, I assume all will work as is :)

I'll look at each board and see what I have. All, I know, are 3.0.11; one uses Igloo (as you'll remember ;); I have no mods tab on another.

Thanks.

User avatar

Admin

Posts: 11073

Unless someone has updated the style, that one is 3.0.8 and you probably already have some breakages. There were also five styles involved.

Whoever updated it may have broken the Mark Forums Read function but I would need to look at the code to see if the conflict does in fact exist on that board. You will likely find that some other stuff is broken, like some of the search pages and options.

Some MODs will be out of date too.

I could be wrong. I am just looking at some random old files here. I see a version of 3.0.10 too. "Mark forums read" will probably work, that being the case. This did involve manual edits.

Oh, now wait a minute! That is a pre-modded phpBB SEO version.

That one alone is a nightmare. Easy enough to do but very time-consuming.

If all else fails, I can create a 3.0.12 version from the files that I have but this may not be the best/easiest route. The database would still have to be updated but if memory serves me correctly, it should at least work as-is (with the existing data married to new files).

Really, that one is a home server one, I would think. People say you cannot remove the phpBB SEO premod but I have certainly done it. That board does not need it and it is only a (BIG) complication. I would not want to do that one in-situ.

Translated: it is nowhere near a standard install.

Most stuff will work, yes. However, some things will begin to fail as MODs with version check become outdated.

User avatar

Posts: 825

Ooh 'eck. Will need to ponder. Thanks.

User avatar

Admin

Posts: 11073

Yeah, that one is not a good one ... especially to start with.

I'll do some more digging. I need to find the most up to date version that I have.

Display posts from previous:  Sort by  



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
Jump to:  
cron
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group