upgrading our forum, ack, please help?

[raincat]

We're long paying customers that ask for help once every few years, so hopefully you'll help this time.  

Apparently we absolutely must upgrade our forum to the current version now.

We also need to upgrade from PHP 7.4 to whatever's necessary.  We know, that's a webhost thing, but we don't know the order of events here in terms of the IPB bit?  In case this isn't already on here, the forum is 4.4.9.2.

We cancelled one long-running package with you but still want to update the one that's still scheduled for rebill.  Can you please help us determine the necessary steps?  

If there's a guide in the Help area for exactly this we didn't find it, perhaps it's too specific we're not sure, thank you very much.

[Randy Calvert]

Here's what I would do if I were you:

1. Disable all 3rd party applications & plugins.
2. Switch to a default non-customized IPS theme.
3. Switch your server to PHP 8.
4. Use the compatibility checker script to confirm you have all of the required PHP modules installed in your PHP8.   
5. Manually upload the files of the new version from your client area to your server.
6. Visit yourdomain.com/admin/upgrade and follow the prompts to do the upgrade.
7. Check if any 3rd party modifications require an update (there's a button to manually check in the applications page). After you apply the updates you can safely re-enable those modifications.
8. Go to your Support Page in ACP and fix any remaining issues listed on the page.
9. If you still have disabled applications and/or plugins after the above steps, re-enable them 1 by 1 to make sure they are compatible with PHP 8.

[Ramsesx]

11 minutes ago, raincat said:

If there's a guide in the Help area for exactly this we didn't find it, perhaps it's too specific we're not sure, thank you very much.

But since 4.4 there are some changes making it tricky to upgrade to the latest release like the marketplace change and the requirement to upgrade to php8. Especially if you are heavy related on plugins.

[Jim M]

56 minutes ago, Randy Calvert said:

Here's what I would do if I were you:

 

1. Disable all 3rd party applications & plugins.
2. Switch to a default non-customized IPS theme.
3. Switch your server to PHP 8.
4. Use the compatibility checker script to confirm you have all of the required PHP modules installed in your PHP8.   
5. Manually upload the files of the new version from your client area to your server.
6. Visit yourdomain.com/admin/upgrade and follow the prompts to do the upgrade.
7. Check if any 3rd party modifications require an update (there's a button to manually check in the applications page). After you apply the updates you can safely re-enable those modifications.
8. Go to your Support Page in ACP and fix any remaining issues listed on the page.
9. If you still have disabled applications and/or plugins after the above steps, re-enable them 1 by 1 to make sure they are compatible with PHP 8.

This would be the best option 🙂 .

[Gary]

Hi @raincat,

Please let us know how you go/went with this and if you require further assistance. 🙂

[raincat]

Hey Ramsesx, Jim M, and Gary, thanks a lot for the input!  🙂

I realized I needed to do a lot of backing up first prior to running the upgrade script, going to do that soon, but in the meantime I've successfully downloaded my upgrade files and am now looking at my webhosting situation with the PHP version.

Yes, my version is is definitely what IPB said it was, that being < 8.

So moving onward though I have the choice of 8.0.28, 8.1.16, or 8.2.3 (again, with the webhost)?

We don't have much else installed on the site outside the range of simpler html pages, the IPB is definitely the most complicated 3rd party thing, so could someone tell us which one is best?  🙂

[Gary]

Backups are a given any time you perform an upgrade.

With regards to the PHP version, Invision Community will run with 8.0.28 and 8.1.16 at the moment, not 8.2.3. We usually advise on the minimum PHP version in our current release notes, just like we did for the 4.7.4 release.

Updating PHP would definitely be on your host's side, yes.

[raincat]

Thanks again for your feedback, but afraid I've hit an anxiety-producing snag.

I upgraded the PHP with my webhost (actually I tried 8.1.16 first, then 8.0.28, same exact problem for both), and the ips4.php file loaded in my browser now reports green checks next to all the PHP requirements, but under MySQL requirements it has a longer string of stuff  . . .

. . . but I think the main deal is up top (not sure if I should copy the rest into this forum either?):

Fatal error: Uncaught mysqli_sql_exception: Access denied for user ''@'localhost' 

the forum now loads with error:

Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Call to undefined function IPS

instead of the forum offline message, which did display before the php change.

What should I do now? 😬

I'm guessing I'm supposed to fix this before I start uploading the upgrade files? 

[raincat]

(please see my very last post so this makes sense)

Maybe I sent that last one before the PHP propagation was complete or something, because I didn't change anything else on my end since my last post BUT NOW under MySQL requirements it says:

MySQL connection could not be established to perform version check. Make sure your MySQL Server version is 5.5.3 or above (5.6.2 or above recommended).

Do I need to do something about that too before uploading upgrade files?  

The forum still loads with an error though, so it seems problematic.

Edited February 24, 2023 by raincat

[raincat]

Sorry for the multiple posts/general confusion, but after talking to the webhost again and having been assured the PHP was fully working now, I think that error means I'm supposed to go ahead and attempt to install the upgrade and perhaps it'll work then?

Since I have a backup anyway?

But if anyone wants to scream HALT!  in the next few minutes, go right ahead  . . ack. 😬

[Jim M]

57 minutes ago, raincat said:

MySQL connection could not be established to perform version check. Make sure your MySQL Server version is 5.5.3 or above (5.6.2 or above recommended).

Was the ips4.php file placed in your directory with your conf_global.php file? If so, have your hosting provider check the version of MySQL and the connection details. Obviously, if you're in the upgrader and not getting errors then everything is fine though 🙂 .

[raincat]

So webhost is still 8.0.28, ips4.php page still loads, I THINK I uploaded everything correctly as I was very careful, but when I load the admin/upgrade page, I get this error:

An error occurred (500 error)

We're sorry, but a temporary technical error has occurred which means we cannot display this site right now. 

You can try again by clicking the button below, or try again later. 

(the try again button yielded same)

What's my next step?  😳

 

Edited February 24, 2023 by raincat

[raincat]

I've been trying harder and harder but things might be going from bad to worse.  😞

I reuploaded all the files all over again just to make sure my FTP program didn't miss one somehow, and about as certain as I can be it did not.

Now I don't get the error above, but just: Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Call to undefined function IPS\get_magic_quotes_gpc() . . . and ending in:

board/system/Request/Request.php on line 117

There's stuff in between but that might be enough since the forum said not to paste in everything during an upgrade.

This doesn't take many minutes to like . . . settle in or something like the PHP thing, right?

And as long as it's one of the PHPs past 8 it's fine?  I'm assuming I should stop messing with that since the ips4.php page still works?

I can't get to step 6 above to follow the prompts to do the upgrade.  Just that error up there.  😞

[Jim M]

PHP 8.0 or PHP 8.1 are compatible with the latest release.

Are you overwriting all files on your server? You're calling a function there which has been removed in PHP 8 and thus failing. Which means a file is out of date or a third party add-on is.

[raincat]

Hi again, I stopped updating every detail because I'd nattered on long enough without a reply (grin), but in the meantime I've determined that at least with my webhost and/or anything else that might be relevant with my situation (though I've no idea what) it only works in PHP 8.1.16, not the earlier 8.0.28?

I don't know why, since the ips4.php file worked in both, but then when I tried to run the updater, it only worked when I had the web hosting control panel for the later PHP?

I just switched it back on a whim, just to make sure I'd checked and rechecked all details and lo and behold, it updated in the later one when it loaded nothing but errors in the previous?

So I'm checking the board out now, I can't say everything is intact yet but the index page loads.  🙂

[SJ77]

If your site index page is working that's a great sign. Glad to hear you have worked through it. I think now the worst is over. You can start turning on your plugins and apps 1 by 1 and see if anything breaks. 🙂

[raincat]

I spoke too soon, but I swear, it was totally loading there for a few minutes.  All I did was log in to the admin panel, then try to turn back on one of my third party plugins.  I then loaded the site to see, and got the following error.  

Fatal error: Unparenthesized `a ? b : c ? d : e` is not supported. Use either `(a ? b : c) ? d : e` or `a ? b : (c ? d : e)` in /home/customer/public_html/board/system/Theme/Theme.php(885) : eval()'d code on line 5011

I'm still in my admin panel, that still works, but even though I re-disabled the third party plugins, I'm still getting the error when I try to load the actual board.  OMG.  Somehow I broke it but I swear I was still following the instructions?

[Randy Calvert]

24 minutes ago, raincat said:

I spoke too soon, but I swear, it was totally loading there for a few minutes.  All I did was log in to the admin panel, then try to turn back on one of my third party plugins.  I then loaded the site to see, and got the following error.  

Fatal error: Unparenthesized `a ? b : c ? d : e` is not supported. Use either `(a ? b : c) ? d : e` or `a ? b : (c ? d : e)` in /home/customer/public_html/board/system/Theme/Theme.php(885) : eval()'d code on line 5011

I'm still in my admin panel, that still works, but even though I re-disabled the third party plugins, I'm still getting the error when I try to load the actual board.  OMG.  Somehow I broke it but I swear I was still following the instructions?

That's typically an issue with your theme.  I would suggest switching to a new/clean default theme to confirm.  If it fixes the problem, it's something in your theme and you would need to either work with whomever provided your theme for an update or review the changes between the themes to fix it.  

Check out the following for help with updating themes.  

 

[raincat]

So when you say it's an issue with my theme, I WAS using a theme previously, but I thought as per the instructions above I'd totally switched to the IPS 4.4 Default?  

I did that in the order of the instructions, and I just checked on it again and it's still checked? 

Also for those brief moments it was loading it was blue and white.  My other theme was dark, so definitely different?

What did I do wrong?  How do I fix, sob!  

p.s.  edited to add, I never even tried to switch back to the previous theme, was just trying to basically load then hoping for some third party plugins thus far, that's what seemed to have crashed it.

Edited February 24, 2023 by raincat

[Randy Calvert]

You can't use the IPS 4.4 default theme.  It's missing a bunch of stuff that was introduced in later versions.  You would need to use a new unmodified 4.7 theme and customize it to look whatever way you want.  

The above guide walks through creating a new theme.  Essentially you're just going to go to:

ACP > Customizations > Themes

Then click on "Add Theme".  You'll make it the new default front end theme which will then be used by all members.  You can also find other themes in the Marketplace that you can install (such as dark themes created by others). 

ACP > Marketplace > Themes > All Themes

 

[raincat]

OH.  

I'm sorry, somehow I totally missed this part!  I did wonder why the number didn't change, but I thought maybe since it was like an official entry there it just got updated or something.

But um, I think I'm still not getting something because I did click "create new" then added a theme in Easy Mode.  It says it's the default now too, with a green button, and a green check and "invision" instead of "customized."

But unfortunately, still same error when loading the board?

Again unfortunately, I did NOT do this in advance.  I misunderstood the instructions as me needing to switch to the OLD IPS default skin before updating, not create this new one first?  Is that why it messed up?

[Jim M]

We would need to look further into this for you, however the access details on file appear to be incorrect or missing. Could you please update these details by visiting your client area, selecting the relevant purchase, then clicking "Review/Update Access Information" under the "Stored Access Information" section. 

We look forward to further assisting you. 

 

[raincat]

I finished doing that just now.  🙂

My email address on file under "account settings" is good too?

[Jim M]

Looks like things are fine but you may have some server caching going on which is caching the index page because if I append ?test to the URL, it works fine. I would advise contact your hosting provider for assistance in removing that cache as it is becoming impactful.

[raincat]

OK, I see that too now, if this is the normal end of my board URL:

/board/

now this actually works?

/board/?test

This is my first experience with . . . whatever this is, really hard core caching, because I promise I really was hitting the refresh button, for real.  And the first URL still isn't working for me either, in browsers I've not used in quite some time.

So just contact my webhost and say what would you recommend, if you'd care to add?  Just explain this situation or . . . is there some other name for this?

Thanks so far (not jinxing this by assuming I'm done yet, I might have to come back and complain again gee I sure hope not. 🙂. )