Monday I noticed that Invision Power Board had released another version of their newest piece of software. I use IPB for my forums at MissSportsTalk.com. I’d been using 1.3 for a while now after using 1.1 and 1.2. I’d come to IPB over from phpBB. Never really regretted the switch. But I usually get the newest and latest version as soon as it’s out. But I’d already let version 2.0’s PF1 release (pre-final…that means it’s supportable but not fully got every bug worked out of it) go by w/o an install. So I decide the time is now to get the newest possible.
So I downloaded the new version. Backup my old database. And then start the process. I upload all the new stuff. But it seems my FTP program didn’t get everything uploaded at the same time, so I had to redo a few things. Then I ran the upgrade script. Everything was going smoothly. I was watching the steps click by, one after the other. Then it hit a glitch. Not sure what it was, but it just stopped. It couldn’t find something or another. I tried to figure it out.
So I ran the upgrade script again. It looked like it was messing stuff up. Duplicating things and all. Then it just hit a big wall and error messages were being shown to me. So I’d realized I’d broken the thing. I set it to upload all the new files again, just to make sure, and went to lunch.
I came back and tried the upgrade script again, hoping that something was missed before and would now magically work. But alas, nothing worked. I was at a loss.
So I finally decided to upgrade from the “Trial” versions of IPB I’d been using to the real deal. That means paying some $$. So I did so, waited for the process to be registered played out. It played out over night and on into Tuesday morning. So finally Tuesday morning I open a support ticket. Then have to go out of town for a few hours. Come back and my email back tells me to get my host to restore my old database.
That was half a chore in itself. But after talking to my great and wonderful host about it for a while (Everyone should use InsiderHosting.com for any and all their webhosting needs!!!”) I am able to look at the database. And horror of all horrors..I see that it only has about 101 of my previous 1603 members. I had lost over 1500 members! It was kaput. Over. Fine’. Screwed. All those words. My heart fell. I thought all was lost.
Then I decided to try one more database I found on my desktop. I thought it was older, but better than my nearly nothing I’d just uploaded. Steven at InsiderHosting said to upload it, but it might be later in the night before they could process it. I go pick up my daughter, come home, and he tells me to check it out. He’s restored it. Hallelujah! I think all is well now.
It’s back in the hands of IPB now. Last communication I got from them is an email asking for the version of MySQL that my host runs. But they don’t do much support over the dark of night, so hopefully it will all be resolved in the next few hours. Hopefully….
