Question about a clean slate

[watdhell]

After several installation and deletion of various MOD's and a somewhat "tricky" template, I find myself with a slow running forum. I've tried just about every possible fix that I can find, and frankly... i'm tired.

Can someone verify the proper way to wipe all the php and MOD's clean, but not lose your members, posts, etc.....?

I'm under the impression that it goes:

1.) back up DB (<--- Just in case)
2.) remove any extra MOD files
3.) install fresh, new PHP in it's entirety EXCEPT for the config.php
4.) through ACP make sure i have correct path and info

Does that sound right? Am I forgetting anything?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Black Fluffy Lion]

That sounds like a good plan. but you haven't considered:

1. Do you have MODs which change your database? If so, then just using fresh, unmodified files won't uninstall them completely.
2. Do you have any styles installed? If so, then you should remove them properly from the admin panel; don't just delete the files. (This will avoid users who use the style receiving errors.)

[watdhell]

Do you have MODs which change your database?

Hmmm.... good question. Most of the MOD's i'm having problems with are superficial ones (image resize, etc.) and I don't remember them making too many, if any, changes to the database. I've installed some Security hacks here and there, but I plan to re-install them once i'm back up and running.

Any particular MOD's I should look out for? What type of conflicts should I expect?

Do you have any styles installed?

Already on top of this one. I only had one extra after SubSilver and the main, but I've already removed it from ACP and deleted it from the database.

[Black Fluffy Lion]

Hmmm.... good question. Most of the MOD's i'm having problems with are superficial ones (image resize, etc.) and I don't remember them making too many, if any, changes to the database. I've installed some Security hacks here and there, but I plan to re-install them once i'm back up and running.

Any particular MOD's I should look out for? What type of conflicts should I expect?

Well, leaving the MODs installed to the database wouldn't create any "conflicts" or errors; it would just leave some unnecessary fields that are unused. The only confict you would have is if you tried to reinstall the MOD when the database changes have already been made - but in this case, it will be clear what tables/columns/rows to remove to uninstall the MOD completely. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry about it.

[Riamus]

If you really want to clean up the database, you can just look at all the mods you've installed and see what SQL changes were made and undo them.

Or, ***I believe*** an option would be to make a backup of the database from within ACP (so that you don't backup any additional tables) and then wipe the database and the forum and reinstall both. Then, import the backup. This should remove all tables that mods create. I'm not sure if it will remove extra columns in the regular phpBB tables, though. Still, your database would be cleaner than doing nothing.

[Black Fluffy Lion]

Yeah, that is a good idea if you want to get rid of any extra tables It won't remove any extra columns, though, BTW.