I've tried this in the past, and I know it shouldn't be a difficult task, but for some reason I seem to neglect a step or something, and things don't turn out right...

I have a DNN 435 site that I want to upgrade to 436.  I don't have the confidence to do a straight upgrade since its a production site with paying members.  I'd rather back it up and restore to a new (temporary) domain, then upgrade that portal.  Once it's working, I can switch the domain back.

Can anyone tell me what steps they would take to accomplish this?  Please be specific since I'm not as experienced as most of you with web site management.

I really appreciate any help.

tkworkman,

You can also use a scripted solution to do the work for you. I had a similar situation earlier this month and needed to backup an entire live, functional site, including subportals controlled by users, various non-core modules, and tons of portal files. I purchased BackupScript 2.0.4 by Evotiva and it turned out to be the best forty-eight bucks I ever spent in the DNN world. I was able to deploy a complete and functional backup of the site on my home computer, using the UltiDev Cassini Web Server (which is free). In your case you would want to be sure to tell Evotiva of the URL of that temporary hosting location, so that your license can be extended to both domains. One you install the BackupScript module, then you just click to backup the original site, click to redeploy (restore) it to that temporary site, and click to bring it back up on the original domain later. I was excited enough about this process that I made the DNNCassini project at http://www.DNNcassini.com . Although we have enough volunteers for now, Evotiva has amazing (no, I mean, Amazing) tech support and will assist you from A-Z.

Thanks,
Travis