Converting from 2.0.x to 3.2.11

[Zherog]

Hi all. I could use a bit of assistance. Thanks in advance.

My host deactivated PHP v5.6. They insist we were notified it was going to happen, but I have no copy of that email anywhere. So, needless to say, when they deactivated v5.6 my sites stopped working. They cannot do anything to temporarily reactivate the older PHP version while we upgrade, so we're down hard. To get us up and running again, I'm attempting to convert from our 2.0.x version to 3.2.11 based on the conversion section of the install document.

After performing a backup of our databases and code, I started along the path of a new PHPBB3 install following the new installation directions. The first step there is to upload the code into a new directory. So under our "public_html" directory, I created a new folder named PHPBB3, uploaded the zip file to that location, and uncompressed it. I am now on this step:

Once all the files have been uploaded to your site, you should point your browser at this location with the addition of /install/. For example, if your domain name is www.example.com and you placed the phpBB files in the directory /phpBB3 off your web root you would enter http://www.example.com/phpBB3/install/ or (alternatively) http://www.example.com/phpBB3/install/app.php into your browser. When you have done this, you should see the phpBB Introduction screen appear.

And here's where I'm running into issues. When I point my browser to www.mywebpage.com/phpbb3/install, it downloads a copy of the file app.php. I've tried this using both Chrome (my preferred browser) and Microsoft Edge, with the same result. I've tried www.mywebpage.com/phpbb3/install and www.mywebpage.com/phpbb3/install/app.php with that same result. Can anybody guide me in the right direction to resolve this, so I can go ahead and say a Hail Mary and actually attempt the conversion?

Thanks in advance! I appreciate any assistance that comes my way!

[janus_zonstraal]

Did you upload the .htacces file?
And the real url can be helpful.

[Zherog]

Did you upload the .htacces file?

Thanks for chiming in and offering some help, janus. I did not upload a copy of .htaccess. I just looked, and one was uploaded with everything else. I've just tried editing it so that "RewriteBase" was both /phpbb3/ and /phpbb3/install/. In both cases, the same behavior happens. I've also tried the .htaccess file in my webroot folder as well as the one that was in the phpbb3 folder. In all cases it has the same behavior - downloads the app.php file.

And the real url can be helpful.

The URL for the "old" forum is www.niftymessageboard.com, so the install step should be using www.niftymessageboard.com/phpbb3/install.

Thanks again for offering assistance. I do appreciate it.

[janus_zonstraal]

And you didn't read the error message?

You are running an unsupported PHP version. Please upgrade to PHP equal to or greater than 5.4.7 but less than 7.3-dev in order to install or update to phpBB 3.2

what php versions is your host offering?

[Zherog]

And you didn't read the error message?

You are running an unsupported PHP version. Please upgrade to PHP equal to or greater than 5.4.7 but less than 7.3-dev in order to install or update to phpBB 3.2

I didn't see an error message anywhere. Can you point out where that is? It's not on my screen...

what php versions is your host offering?

According to the most recent email I received from them, 7.3. Is there an easy way to check to verify that? My host is Bluehost.

[Zherog]

Which, obviously, is my problem. That seems obvious now that the coffee is starting to sink in.

So, I'm not going to be able to upgrade from 2.0.22 to 3.2.11 - I'll need to go straight to 3.3 it looks like?

[Lumpy Burgertushie]

if you don't upgrade your php version you will not be able to install 3.3 either.

in your bluehost control panel you will be able to switch your php version if you can't find it ask your host.


once you have done that you will be able to do the conversion.


robert

[Zherog]

Thanks, Lumpy.

I found the screen in Bluehost that tells me my php version.

php-version.PNG

So the site I'm currently working on is using v7.2. So the PHP version isn't the issue I'm running into, it seems.

Available options in the dropdown list are 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, and "Inherit".

Maybe taking a step back gives me a better question to ask. What is my easiest path to migrate from our existing 2.0.22 version to something that will run on Bluehost, given the versions available above. My assumption was that the path I mentioned in my first post was the easiest - 2.0.22 to 3.2.11, and from there to 3.3. But I guess by this point in time, everybody knows the saying about what happens when you assume.

Thanks to both for your input. I very much appreciate it.

[EA117]

I didn't see an error message anywhere. Can you point out where that is? It's not on my screen...

Presumably because the behavior has changed from what you were originally experiencing. When we visit the http://www.niftymessageboard.com/phpbb3/install link you provided, we're not seeing the "attempts to download the .PHP file" result you were seeing, which was a symptom of the absence of correct PHP support in the web server.

This "You are running an unsupported PHP version. Please upgrade to PHP equal to or greater than 5.4.7 but less than 7.3-dev in order to install or update to phpBB 3.2" message is what we see when visiting that URL right at this moment.

For as long as you have the phpBB /install/ folder in place, you can also see your PHP version using http://www.niftymessageboard.com/phpbb3/install/phpinfo.php. Your site is currently running under PHP 7.3.27.

This also means the configuration you just showed from Bluehost apparently isn't what actually applies to the folder where phpBB is at. Unfortunately you would really have to ask your hosting support about how that disparity exists. That too could be a symptom of something not as expected about the web server's PHP configuration at their end, same as the "attempts to download .PHP files" symptom.

[Zherog]

Thanks, EA117. I clicked your link and got the message. I refreshed my open tab, and got the same behavior as before. Then I saw the difference: my open browser tab had a slash after "install".

For as long as you have the phpBB /install/ folder in place, you can also see your PHP version using http://www.niftymessageboard.com/phpbb3 ... hpinfo.php. Your site is currently running under PHP 7.3.27.

A very good tip/trick. Thank you!

This also means the configuration you just showed from Bluehost apparently isn't what actually applies to the folder where phpBB is at. Unfortunately you would really have to ask your hosting support about how that disparity exists. That too could be a symptom of something not as expected about the web server's PHP configuration at their end, same as the "attempts to download .PHP files" symptom.

Thanks. I'll reach out to Bluehost Support once again. The way things have been going so far, that means I'll hear back from them about 24 hours after I contact them, and I'll get half an answer. I'll reply to get the rest, hear back 24 hours later again, and get either a quarter of what I need or something entirely different. And so it'll go for about 5 days.

Bluehost has a good reputation, and I have to say in all the years (10 or so I guess?) we've been on them we've had maybe 4 hours of unscheduled downtime total prior to this. So that part has been fantastic. But this coupled with the general lack of support we've been receiving is leaving me with a sour taste. And to make it slightly more sour, this happened to occur a week or so after we paid for the upcoming year, making moving hosts an expensive proposition at this time.

Anyway, I'll reach out to them again and try to figure out the disparity between their screen and what the PHPBB link is reporting.

Back to the more general question: Am I on the right path, if my goal is to upgrade as easily and painlessly as possible - Bluehost issues aside?

Thanks, all! I very much appreciate people spending their free time - on the weekend even - answering my questions, instead of doing all the other things they could be doing.

[stevemaury]

Were it me, I would do all this offline with XAMPP. You can download XAMPP with asny version of php your heart desires, and you can even run multiple XAMPP iterations with different php versions. This may be of some help:

https://www.phpbb.com/support/docs/en/3 ... eb-server/

[Zherog]

Thank you all for the assistance. Bluehost has done something on their end to make 7.2 the PHP version for that site. I've asked them to tell me how so I can do it myself going forward if possible. I'll need to, first so I can update our second site and then so I can eventually move from 3.2.11 to 3.3.x and get on version 7.3 of PHP.

But for now, I'm all set and moving on to the next steps. What is the etiquette here if I run into additional issues related to the upgrade / conversion: do I continue to post in this thread, or do I create a new thread? Hopefully I don't need to know, but just in case...

Once again, Thank You to everybody who took the time to offer assistance. It's greatly appreciated!

[warmweer]

What is the etiquette here if I run into additional issues related to the upgrade / conversion: do I continue to post in this thread, or do I create a new thread? Hopefully I don't need to know, but just in case...

Should you encounter some issues during the conversion, just use this topic (the topic-title covers the subject).
Anything after a successful conversion is best discussed in a new topic in the relevant forum (3.2 or 3.3).

[Zherog]

Thank you, warmweer!

[Zherog]

Hi all! First - and foremost - THANK YOU! to everybody who helped get me through my earlier questions about converting from 2.0.x to 3.2.11. Without your help, I'd still be stuck trying to figure this out.

I have what I hope is one final question. I suspect it's a really dumb question, but a lot of questions I ask end up being dumb. So here goes... The conversion section of the installation guide says this:

You basically need to follow the instructions given for New installations. Please do not overwrite any old files - install phpBB3 at a different location.

So I've done that, creating a folder named "phpbb3" inside my "public_html" folder. And so I've been accessing my forum up to this point by adding "/phpbb3" to the URL in my browser. Now I want this to be "live". I don't want to require my users to have to add "/phpbb3" - I want my URL to go there instead. And... I can't quite figure out how I'm supposed to do that.

I do have a hunch in that if I log into my host via ssh, there is a link in my home directory named ww that resolves to the public_html folder. My hunch is that if I change that link to instead point to public_html/phpbb3, I'll be golden. But I'm scared to do so without someone giving me the proverbial thumbs up. (Or, of course, the "thumbs down" if I'm so wrong it causes physical pain to read my naivety.)

Hopefully that's clear. Maybe after a little more caffeine I'll reread that and cringe... Thanks again for the help up until now!