Changing host

spence · #1 (**permalink**) 10-15-2009, 05:51 AM

hey guys,
just need to ask some questions in regards to changing hosts. we now have our own host that hosts our site and we want our forums to follow suit. i tried to restore and install the backup on my host but it didn't work.

how do i get all the users and post etc. (everything) and move it to my host.

note: this has nothing to do with your service it has been great and has gotten us to where we are today.

please any help would be greatly appreciated.

our current forums that are hosted by you:
bikecrazy.freeforum.ca • Index page

and the desired forums that we want to upload all the data too:
Bike Crazy • Index page

**Support** · #2 (**permalink**) 10-15-2009, 05:15 PM

Hi, Spence. Sorry to say but the backup file is encrypted and there is no way to restore it to other hosts except the original host.

spence · #3 (**permalink**) 10-15-2009, 10:47 PM

ok so i know you can so im asking for a little bit of support.

Purpose

This article explains in-depth how to move your forum from one hosting provider to another (different or same domain) or from one domain to another on the same host. These instructions are only intended to work with MySQL databases.

Requirements

You will need FTP access to your server. You will also need an FTP client. The client which is used during the course of this article is FileZilla.
It is highly recommended (although not required) that you have access to phpMyAdmin in order to make a backup of your database. Most hosting providers offer this application. It should be available in the databases section of your hosting control panel (cPanel, Plesk, etc). If you are unsure of how to access phpMyAdmin, you should contact your hosting provider for details.
For larger databases (greater than 2MB exactly) you will likely be unable to restore the backed up database via phpMyAdmin. Because of this, you will need to use a program called BigDump to restore the database. BigDump can be obtained from here. Instructions will follow on the proper usage of BigDump. Alternatively, you can use SSH to restore the database (details below).
You will need a basic text editor. For Windows: Notepad++. For OS X, use Text Edit. For GNU/Linux, use GEdit or KEdit depending on your desktop environment. You may also choose to use another text editor of your choice. Do not use a word processor such as Microsoft Word or program such as Adobe Dreamweaver.
(Optional) If your hosting provider(s) offers SSH (Secure Shell) access to your server, this is the preferred method of backing up and restoring a database. Check with your hosting provider(s) for details. For Windows, you will need an SSH client such as PuTTY. For GNU/Linux and OS X, SSH is built directly into the Terminal.

Preparation

This step will prepare your board for the transfer.

Visit your old board’s Administration Control Panel. On the General tab, select the Server settings link on the left-hand side of the page. Ensure Force server URL settings is set to NO, as shown in the image below.

Select the Board settings link on the left-hand side of the page. Ensure Disable board is set to YES.

Backup

Backing up the phpBB Files

Here, we will get a backup of your phpBB directory and database. Using FileZilla, connect to your old domain name. Browse to the location of your phpBB directory and copy its contents to a folder on your computer, as shown in the image below:

Ensure all files and folders have been properly transferred.

Backing Up the Database

Select one of the three options below to back up your database. Use whichever one is best based on your needs and what tools you have available to you.

1) Using phpMyAdmin to Back Up the Database

Load phpMyAdmin. Depending on how phpMyAdmin is set up on your server, the images shown below will be slightly different.

Select your forum’s database from the drop down box in the left-hand frame.

In the right-hand frame, select the Export tab. In the Export section of this page, be sure to choose Select All as well as the SQL radio button. In the Options section of this page, ensure the Add DROP TABLE checkbox is checked.

Below this setting in the Data section, ensure Complete inserts is checked, and Extended inserts is unchecked.

At the bottom of the page, check the Save as file box. Leave the file name as default and select gzipped as the compression.

Click Go and save the file to your computer. Proceed to the Restore section.

spence · #4 (**permalink**) 10-15-2009, 10:48 PM

2) Using SSH to Back Up the Database

Open an SSH connection to your server and browse to the location where you wish to store the backed up database file. Run the following command to back up the database:

Code: Select allmysqldump -u USERNAME -p PASSWORD --default-character-set utf8 DATABASE_NAME | gzip > NAME_OF_FILE.GZ
Be sure to substitute USERNAME and PASSWORD with the correct database username/password values. Also be sure to substitute DATABASE_NAME with your newly created database name and NAME_OF_FILE.GZ with the full name of the database backup GZ file.

Open an FTP connection to your server and browse to the location where this file is stored. Transfer it to your computer.

3) Using the phpBB ACP to Back Up the Database

This option is a good solution for smaller boards with below-average sized databases or for users who do not have access to phpMyAdmin.

Visit your old board’s Administration Control Panel. Select the Maintenance Tab. On the left-hand side, click Backup.

Ensure all the options are selected as shown in the image below. Be sure to click the Select all button before proceeding with the backup.

Click Submit. Depending on the size of the database and your server's configuration, this will take a few moments to process. You will be presented with a file for download. Save this to your computer.

Restore

Restoring the Database

On your new hosting provider/domain, create a new blank database which will contain the transferred forum’s database. Take note of the database name, username, and password.

Select one of the three options below to restore your database. Use whichever one is best based on your needs and what tools you have available to you.

1) If the database file is less than 2MB (exactly), follow these instructions

Load phpMyAdmin on your new hosting provider/domain. Select the new database from the drop down menu on the left-hand side. In the right-hand window, select the Import tab. Browse your computer for the database file. Be sure the Character set is set to utf8.

Click Go. Depending on your internet connection, this may take a few moments to load. If all went well, you will be presented with a confirmation message. Proceed to the next step.

2) If the database file is greater than 2MB (exactly) and you wish to use BigDump, follow these instructions

Extract the contents bigdump.zip file and open bigdump.php in your text editor.

Find the following section of code and fill it in appropriately with your database name, username, and password:

Code: Select all // Database configuration

$db_server = 'localhost';
$db_name = '';
$db_username = '';
$db_password = '';
Leave $db_server as its default value.

Edit the following line:

Code: Select all$db_connection_charset = '';
To this:

Code: Select all$db_connection_charset = 'utf8';
Also edit this:

Code: Select all$linespersession = 3000; // Lines to be executed per one import session
$delaypersession = 0;
To this:

Code: Select all$linespersession = 3000; // Lines to be executed per one import session
$delaypersession = 300;
Save the file.

With FileZilla, open an FTP connection to your server. Create a new directory somewhere on your server and name it dump. Set the permissions of this folder to full write. Most often, you will need to right click the file and select File permissions or Properties. Set the permissions to 777, as shown below.

Upload both bigdump.php and your database backup file to this directory. Point your browser to the dump/bigdump.php file on your new domain. Follow the on-screen instructions to import the database backup file.

Depending on the size of the backup, this will take some time to complete. Please do not close your browser during this process. You will receive a confirmation message when it is complete. After this is complete, delete the dump folder from your server. Proceed with the instructions.

3) If you wish to use SSH to restore the database backup, follow these instructions

Upload the database backup SQL file to a location on your server via FTP.

Open an SSH connection to your server and browse to the location where this SQL file is located. Run the following command in SSH to restore the database.

Code: Select allgunzip < NAME_OF-FILE.GZ | mysql -u USERNAME -p PASSWORD --default_character_set utf8 DATABASE_NAME
Be sure to substitute USERNAME and PASSWORD with the correct database username/password values. Also be sure to substitute DATABASE_NAME with your newly created database name and NAME_OF_FILE with the full name of the database backup SQL/GZ file.

IMPORTANT: The command above will only work if the database was gzipped when exported. If the instructions were followed in this article, then this will be the case.

Depending on the size of the database backup, this may take a few moments to complete. If there have been no errors, you will be brought back to the prompt.

Restoring the phpBB Files

Upload the backed up phpBB files to the location you desire on the new server via FTP.

Final Steps

Rebuilding the config.php file

Please reference the following article for the steps necessary to rebuild your config.php file and replace the old one:
http://www.phpbb.com/kb/article/rebuild ... gphp-file/

Changing your board’s cookie settings

Please note that this step is only necessary if you have moved to a new domain name.

Reference the following article for the steps necessary to update your new board's cookie settings:
http://www.phpbb.com/kb/article/fixing- ... -settings/

all i ask is for some support from your end and tell me that it cant be done cause i know it can !

**Support** · #5 (**permalink**) 10-16-2009, 02:42 PM

I mean the backup file is encrypted by us and we do not offer the .sql backup file. Sorry.

spence · #6 (**permalink**) 10-17-2009, 12:47 AM

well decrypt it ? i can give u a ftp username and password to log on and transfer the doc i need to a folder.

**Support** · #7 (**permalink**) 10-18-2009, 04:47 PM

As per our policies, we do not allow to transfer the forum database to other hosts. Sorry.

smithtr · #8 (**permalink**) 03-07-2010, 11:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spence