vBulletin 4 Installation / Upgrade

vBulletin 4 zip file contents

do_not_upload/ folder (This folder
contains
administration files. Only use these when you're told to upload it by a
support
staff, or if you know what you're doing)

`- file: tools.php (a script to help you fix (login) problems and rebuild
caches
for usergroups, bitfields, etc.)

`- file: searchshell.php (a php shell script to rebuild search index from
console)

`- file: vb_backup.sh (a bash shell script to backup the database,
especially
handy for nightly backups)

license_agreement.html file (All customers
must agree to this license agreement prior to downloading and using the
vBulletin
software, read it)

vb4_readme.html (HTML
version of this installation, upgrade, information file)

vb4_readme.txt (TEXT version of this
installation,
upgrade, information file)

upload/ folder (This folder contains all
the
files from the vBulletin forum software that you need to upload when
installing
or upgrading)

`- All the files inside this folder are required to run vBulletin, see the
below installation and/or upgrade instructions on which files to modify
and/or
to delete after an installation or upgrade.

Installing a new vBulletin 4 Community

First, unzip the vBulletin zip file you downloaded from the members'
area to your hard disk and then open the 'upload/includes/' folder.
In this you will find config.php.new. You should rename this to
config.php and
then open it in a text editor.

The config.php file is commented throughout, so you should be able to
work
out what values to enter for the variables yourself.

The values for the config.php file are described in detail here.

When you have finished, save the file and then upload the entire contents
of the 'upload/' folder to
your web server.

When this is done, point your browser at http://www.example.com/forums/install/install.php (where
www.example.com/forums/ is the URL of your vBulletin)

The install will ask for your Customer Number to login.

Once you are logged in you can proceed to follow the instructions on the
screen. When ready click the Next Step buttons
until the script asks to fill in some addresses and names
for your board.

After you have done this, the installer will ask you for some details to
set you up as the administrator of the new vBulletin. A few more clicks and
the script will be finished.

Before proceeding to the Admin Control Panel, you must delete the 'install/install.php' and
'install/upgrade1.php' files from your
webserver. You may then enter the control
panel and start working on your new vBulletin!

The entire installation process should take no more than five
minutes.

For a complete description of how to install vBulletin 4, see the installation section
of the vBulletin
Manual.

Upgrading from vBulletin 3.8.4

Close your board via the Admin Control Panel.

Upload all files from the 'upload/' folder
in the zip, with the exception of 'install/install.php'.
Then open the 'upload/includes/'
folder.

Open your browser and point the URL to http://www.example.com/forum/install/upgrade.php (where
www.example.com/forums/ is the URL of your vBulletin).
You should now be automatically forwarded to the appropriate upgrade script
and step.

Follow the instructions on the screen. Make sure you click next
step or proceed until
you are redirected to your Admin Control Panel. Here, you can reopen your
board.

For a complete description of how to upgrade from a previous version of
vBulletin to the latest version, see the upgrade section of the
vBulletin Manual.

Upgrading from older versions of vBulletin

Before upgrading to vBulletin 4.0, you will need to download the files to
upgrade to vBulletin 3.8.4. Once your community is running on vBulletin
3.8.4, then you can upload the vBulletin 4.0 files and perform the upgrade
to this version. If you need assistance with this, contact vBulletin
Support.

Note: vBulletin 4.0 uses a new Template and Stylevar engine. This
means your previous styles are not compatible with vBulletin 4.0. When you
upgrade, they will be disabled and a new style will be created and set as
the default style.

Note: There are several upgrade scripts that need to be run. You
do not need to determine which you need to run; they will be determined
automatically. Simply click "next step" or "proceed" until you are
redirected to your admin control panel.

When the scripts are complete, it will tell you to delete some files, and
then redirect you to the Admin Control Panel. You should log in to this and
proceed to the Maintenance section of the
control panel, where you should run the Update Counters tools. The
Rebuild Search Index and Rebuild Statistics will take a quite
a long time to run on larger boards.

Appendix: More information

Here are some important links with more information:

• The vBulletin Online Manual (http://www.vBulletin.com/docs/htm
  l/)
  - With installation and upgrade instructions, indepth feature and
  options
  information and more technical documents.
• The vBulletin Members Area (http://members.vBulletin.com/)
  - Download area for vBulletin, private customer support tickets area,
  etc.
• The vBulletin Support Forums (http://www.vBulletin.com/forum/)
  - Free priority support forums, latest announcements with indepth
  release
  details, etc.