archcommus --

As I understood from your most recent post, you were unable to get hold of the install folder for DNN 2.x.x . (Nor could I find it anywhere either.)

You seem to want to do the upgrade path from DNN v2 to DNN v3, and then (if successful) upgrade that to DNN v4.

This may indeed be a logical path, but I don't see why that path is needed if v4.3.7 is the final goal. The real problem is the database which you must have in place, and be able to access, in order to install or upgrade a DNN installation. Insofar as much as I know, you haven't mentioned the database upon which your bequeathed DNN installation sits. If you do not have that database, then upgrades won't be possible: You'll need to start fresh with a DNN 4.3.7 and a fresh SQL database under your control.

Even if you do have access to that v2 database, I think you will not be able to transport it into a v4 structure, and because of machinekeys.

Let me know where you stand on database for the moment and I can think of a few things to try. --Although, I still strongly recommend simply taking your client's existing portal files and inserting them into a new 4.3.7 install.

Thanks,
Travis

archcommus --

You seem to have everything you need for transporting the old site into a new DNN structure. Now these sorts of transplants are rarely successful on the first try. This case is particular because of the huge transformation from DNN 2 to DNN {anything above 2}.

Nonetheless the goals are the same. You want to preserve the old structure and appearance (I assume) and integrate these into DNN 4.3.7 .

Here are the things I would do first -- they can save you a lot of trial and error time, later.

(1) Copy your entire bequeathed DNN file and folder structure into a single folder. Let's call that top folder SAFEKEEP. The folder SAFEKEEP will contain everything your client gave you, and will thus appear as a DNN structure always appears. So it would look like this:
SAFEKEEP
|
|----- yellow folder ADMIN (etc)
|
|----- yellow folder INSTALL (etc)
|
|----- yellow folders (all DNN folders, etc)
|
|-- web.config
|-- bunch of other files


(2) You may wish to send me the SAFEKEEP folder, via yousendit.c o m , to admin@commonmancomputing.com

(3) Make a copy of that .BAK file provided to you. Then put this .BAK file into its own folder, call that folder SAFEKEEP_DB .

(4) You may wish to send me this DB folder as well.

(5) Next, we will test this database's workability with the DNN 4.3.7 frame. Ignore and forget (for the time being) the previous file/folders provided to you by the client. We simply want to use the old database, with the new DNN 4.3.7 to see if they get along with each other.

(6) If you do not know about SQL Server 2005 Express database high-level usernames and authentication paths (used when creating a new instance of a database, before back-plugging and restoring the .BAK into it), then stop here, and let me know that.

(7) Otherwise you will proceed to obtain the DNN 4.3.7_Install folder. You'll unzip it into C:\TANGOROMEO (or whatever) and you'll use your IIS server to point to TANGOROMEO as a virtual directory. You'll edit the web.config file to access the restored database. Then you'll continue with normal DNN installation instructions, invoking the ?=install .aspx into action, and install DNN 4.3.7 .


Thanks,
Travis

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