Any wise tips/warnings before I upgrade my OP 1.6 site from core 6.14 to 6.15?
I've been playing with the Open Publish (OP) profile since 1.5, but have been working heavily with it since 1.6. In the middle of that version, 6.15 of core was released. I have never upgraded Drupal core before. I have read the tutorial on Drupal.org about upgrading ("HowTo: Updating Drupal 6.x to newer minor version"), but since my many months of work are tied up in this site, I want to make sure I don't destroy it all in a moment!
1) I know I need to back up my database. I was planning to use the Back up and Migrate module for that. Is that sufficient? Are there specific settings I need to make sure are set?
2) I plan to make a back up copy of my entire "site" directory.
3) I know I need to disable all non-core modules.
4) The cloudy part is how to handle the core update. Is it as simple as replacing all the current core files with the new ones, excluding the ".htaccess" file? Are there other things I need to watch out for?
Any disaster prevention tips anyone might have will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
profiles folder Generally I
profiles folder
Generally I replace the contents of that folder by hand when updating an install that used a profile to install, just to be safe. I'm probably wasting my time, but there ya go.
sites folder
yes, please don't ever overwrite that one.
In general do your #4 but don't overwrite/replace the sites, profiles , or .htaccess files. Make sure you take the site offline.
backup everything before you start since its your first. Dont worry, if you backup your WHOLE directory and your DB you can get back to zero. You will end up doing this many many times, so build a checklist that works for you. Maybe ask your host what time they backup your site as a fall back if you need them to restore your directory and DB you can go back to a set time.
I am totally assuming you have not modified any files in the directories you are replacing.
Good luck and have fun.
BK
Thanks for the tips
Is saving the "profile" directory unique to profile installs like OP? Or is this common to all Drupal installs?
unique to profile installs,
unique to profile installs, and again probably wasting time but I do it anyway.
Additionally...
Before even using the Backup & Migrate module, I'd save the database file itself. Just in case something happens with the module & something gets hosed. It's never happened to me before but I'm paranoid like that & the DB, imho, is the most important part of any site.
Keep us posted on how it goes.
g'luck,
--miguel
Miguel Hernandez - www.migshouse.com
Founder / Head Geek - The OpenMindz Group
Contributor - Linux Journal
Which file is the database file itself?
Techivist,
Which file is the database file itself? I would rather be safe than sorry. Thanks.
You would export that using
You would export that using say php myadmin
Here is a video at about 4:30 they start talking about the DB and at 5:00 the show how to export a copy of your DB.
http://learnbythedrop.com/drop/132
Here is a walk thru on DO
http://drupal.org/node/81993
upgrading from the command line
If you have shell access, I find this upgrade tutorial very handy. It describes how to do everything from the command line (backups included):
http://drupal.org/node/297496
And you should definitely backup your DB before even trying the Backup and Migrate module (as you should before trying any new module that could botch things up). It is easiest to recover if you backup your whole DB and your whole site.
If you are just doing a minor upgrade from one version of 6 to another, you may not need to disable the non-core modules (I usually don't).
Thanks for all the help!
Thanks for all the help!