Installation update

Hi,

I've inherited a website which was built a number of years ago using TYPOlight and for which we have no support. The only message that was passed on was that we shouldn't update the installation as it would mess everything up.

All I've done since inheriting the site is change the content here and there. I've got to the point where I want to make more substantial changes in appearance and functionality. Currently running TYPOlight webCMS 2.5.9.

Is it worth updating the installation before I start trying to figure out how to do this?
Is there any reason to think that updating will irrevocably change the site?
Is it possible to revert if it doesn't work out?

Thanks for your help

PS You may have noticed I'm way out of my depth here.

HI

Quote:

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Originally Posted by anthonydancer

The only message that was passed on was that we shouldn't update the installation as it would mess everything up.

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This is not true

Quote:

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Originally Posted by anthonydancer

Is it worth updating the installation before I start trying to figure out how to do this?
Is there any reason to think that updating will irrevocably change the site?
Is it possible to revert if it doesn't work out?

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TYPOLight 2.5.9 is very old, but you can do the upgrade.

The advice is to get help from someone who knows Contao.
The changes we have and something needs to be reviewed on the site, but it is not a complicated job.

make a copy of the file and the DB and try the upgrade on another server.
Make updates in small steps, such as
TYPOlight 2.5.9 -> TYPOlight 2.6.5
TYPOlight 2.6.5 -> TYPOlight 2.7.0
TYPOlight 2.7.0 -> TYPOlight 2.8.0
TYPOlight 2.8.0 -> Contao 2.9.5

Thanks Paolo,

I just updated to version 2.7.7, although I appear to have lost the top bar with the page menu on my website. Any idea how to reinstate?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by anthonydancer

I just updated to version 2.7.7, although I appear to have lost the top bar with the page menu on my website. Any idea how to reinstate?

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The html code of the menu is changed in those versions, please check style sheets

Thanks,

I'm a complete beginner with Contao - could you give me an idea of where to look, what I'm looking for, and what to change it to?

Updating gives many new features, and fixes vulnerabilities. So updating is a good idea before you start changing the website and even adding new functionality.

Paolo B's advice might not have been correct. When updating you should keep in mind that the existing website may have custom templates (inside TL_ROOT/templates), custom extensions and settings that may not update without problems.

First step would be to identify custom templates and compare them to the originals (inside an extensions templates dir like TL_ROOT/system/modules/extension-name/templates). This way you know what was changed. After the update you may have to manually alter the custom templates so that they follow changes to the original.

Second step is to see which custom extensions are installed. The built in extension repository can tell you this. Open the extension manager to see an overview. Not sure though when the manager was introduced, and it can also be disabled (enable under "disabled extensions" in settings). Inside the manager check if all extensions are compatible. Then extensions can also be added outside of the manager, usually custom written, so check then very well!

Somwhere along the road Contao got "Themes" introduced. You also need to look if the old layouts got changed correctly into the theme's structure. I explained a bit more in the other thread you started.Paolo B's advice might not have been correct. When updating you should keep in mind that the existing website may have custom templates (inside TL_ROOT/templates), custom extensions and settings that may not update without problems.

ps, TL_ROOT = TL/Contao root folder

Hi Ruud,

Thank you very much indeed for your help. You may have gathered I'm a bit of a novice.

I'll look into the steps you've mentioned shortly. In the meantime I have a more pressing problem:

Before I began the update I called our hosting provider (godaddy) and asked if it was possible to backup all of our information so that if something went wrong I could revert everything back. They took me through 2 steps: 1) how to back-up the database online (and create an sql file) and 2) how to use an FTP programme do download everything to my computer. I followed both steps and everything seemed to work.

The next day I used the contao live update function to update the installation from 2.5.9 to 2.7.7. It worked but, as I said, the top bar on the website (with the menu) went missing, so I decided to try and revert back to the previous version of the website.

To do this I used a restore database function on the godaddy website. For some reason it didn't work and I received an error message. What's worse is the website then went down completely and I now see this error message: www.saiga-conservation.com, the back-end is still accessible though and everything is there, and it's still version 2.7.7.

I called godaddy and spent several hours on the phone with them. They are looking into it but didn't seem hopeful that they could help as they aren't familiar with the CMS. They seemed to think something was wrong with the database.

Do you have any idea what went wrong and how I can fix it?

Thanks again.

Actually I've just noticed that everything is not there on the back-end. If I try to access news archives or newsletter recipients I received the same error message. I assume this is database related? Other content is still there though e.g. page content.

You say you restored the database. Did you also restore the files? (deleting all online, then uploading the backup. Assuming that contains all files from the initial situation.)

No, not yet. As the database restore failed I thought it best not to complicate. Also godaddy didn't suggest it as an option so I didn't consider. I do have all the files on my computer though from the initial situation. Should I try uploading?

Thanks again

Yes! Very important: files and database belong to each other. Contao has updated your database after you used the live update feature, but it can't downgrade in all cases. So you need to restore both database and files to the initial situation and you'd be fine. Mind the correct file permissions, you can find them in the installation instructions. (system/tmp, system/html and such need to be writable.)

How odd that godaddy does instruct you to backup db and files, but does not see if both have been reinstated. Did you speak to different representatives?

Of course, that makes sense. After the initial error message when trying to restore the database however I thought it best to leave it to wait and see what godaddy support said. I mentioned several times that I had all files backed-up to my computer but they didn't suggest uploading. Spoke to different reps but made sure I explained what I had done previously to all.

OK will give it a go. Wish me luck...

Thanks

After you've done that you'd best inform yourself about all customizations that have been done for your installation. Just follow what I posted earlier about extensions and templates.

You should be able to use the newest Contao if no third party extensions are used. If that is the case you most likely will be able but may need to update those extensions as well.

Good luck ;)

Good news! I deleted all the files on the server and uploaded the files I backed-up prior to the upgrade and it seemed to work fine. The website is back up. I haven't been able to get the restore database function to work on godaddy but as the website is working I assume that is not a problem?

Unfortunately I still don't seem to have access to the back-end. People seem to have had similar problems previously but have dealt with it in different ways. Is there a specific, easy fix I can do?

Thanks

Ignore that last message. I followed advice on another thread to reset password and it worked.

Now for the upgrade...