Updating phpBB3

phpBB is a free, open source forum software that allows users to interact at a website. The code is module-based, supposedly for easier updates. However, as one comes to expect from open source:

Snarky? Oh yeah, we’ve got plenty today. For the third time, I had to completely reinstall the forums here at my site thanks to phpbb.com’s automatic update download. The default phpbb admin control panel contains code that notifies you if a newer version of the software is available. Thanks to my last all-consuming project, three updates were released while I was busy. So my version was 3.0.1 while the latest version is 3.0.4. And if you check out phpbb.com’s download page, you’ll see my first problem: there is no automatic update that converts 3.0.1 into 3.0.4. So after hours of searching the community forums over there, I finally found a link to past updates at SourceForge. There I found an archive that updates 3.0.1 to 3.0.2. Since phpbb.com boasted a file that updates 3.0.2 to 3.0.4, I realized 1) the update had to be accomplished in steps, and 2) it was going to be a long night.

So I upgraded 3.0.1 to 3.0.2. And apart from some ftp problems that are my server’s fault, that went pretty smoothly. Then deleted those files and uploaded the 3.0.2-3.0.4 package. And that’s when the crying began. This package was much larger in filesize, and took longer to push online. And when it was all through, I navigated to the install page only to find the following message highlighted in red:

“The update files found are incompatible with your installed version. Your installed version is 3.0.2 and the update file is for updating phpBB 3.0.2 to 3.0.3.”

Can you spot the redundancy in the statement above? The first one to post it in a comment gets a free, signed copy of my next strategy guide releasing January 20th. (Be sure to leave a valid e-mail so we can trade info.)

To continue, I gritted my teeth and prepared for an even longer night. By this point, it was 2am PST, and my wife was griping at me to come to bed. I figured the solution was to remove the 3.0.2-3.0.4 update, head back to SourceForge, and grab the 3.0.2-3.0.3 and 3.0.3-3.0.4 updates. Forty-five minutes later, I was finished uploading the former package and directed my browser to the install page. Much to my enamel-crushing rage, I received the same message posted above. How could an upgrade module not realize that it was ready to upgrade the software it was designed to upgrade?

So what’s the solution? Here’s a new, headache-free way to update phpbb forums. I’m posting this solution here for posterity, in the hopes that it helps others, and to remind myself next time the update alert goes off. Follow these easy steps to update your phpbb forums on the first try every time:

1. Backup your database through the Maintenance tab in the admin control panel. Make sure to select all tables and create a text file on your computer.
2. Ignore the admin panel’s advice to download the automatic upgrade. Instead, download the complete install package, usually available at http://www.phpbb.com/downloads/olympus.php
3. Open an FTP window to your site (in Windows, open My Computer or Computer and type “ftp.yoursitenamehere.com” in the address bar) and navigate to /phpBB3/ or your forum directory.
4. Download config.php to your computer.
5. Download /images/ to your computer.
6. If you customized your theme or uploaded one, download it to your computer out of /styles/
7. Delete all forum files from your server.
8. Upload all the files from the full install package.
9. Upload the /images/ directory you backed up on your computer. Overwrite all files.
10. Upload any custom themes you backed up.
11. Upload and overwrite config.php.
12. Open a browser and navigate to http://yoursitename.com/phpBB3_or_yourforumdirectory/install/database_update.php, and it will do the rest.
13. Delete/rename the /install/ folder on your directory.

Tags: forum, phpBB3, reinstall, update