"In general, the standard method for dealing with config upgrades is to rename your existing web.config to web.config.backup. Rename the release.config to web.config. Then manually copy the following settings from the old web.config.backup to the new web.config file:

    <add key="SiteSqlServer" value="{connection string}"/>
    <add key="MachineValidationKey" value="{your localized key}" />
    <add key="MachineDecryptionKey" value="{your localized key}" />   "

I found the

<add key="SiteSqlServer" value="{connection string}"/>

in my original web.config file, but there is no

 <add key="MachineValidationKey" value="{your localized key}" />

or

<add key="MachineDecryptionKey" value="{your localized key}" />.

I do have a

<machineKey validationKey="C18AA34FD6576A2C51BDDDB8EF80560F35C75674"

and a

decryptionKey="C0BBE510FA7A4F19764A33CC70E332A8AE74FF08FBE8B62B"

am I supposed to do something with those instead?

Also, what about the Portals folder? Do I keep my old one there, or let it be overwritten by the new one?

Is there anything else I need to back up? Are there complete step-by-step instructions anywhere?

Thanks!