[DEFUNCT] How to upload your icyboards database to your Initiative hosting

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Your first task is to download the database! The database contains all of the information you need to transfer your forum across to a new host. This includes accounts and posts. To download the database:

• Go to your icyboards ACP.
• Click on IcyBoards Settings. 
• Click on Database Back Ups.
• Click Back Up Now.
• Wait about five minutes and you will see this:
• Click on download to download the .gz file. This is your database!

Now it's time to go to your CPanel! Instructions to get to your cpanel was emailed to you when you registered your hosting service. The first thing you need to do is install mybb. If you've already done this, you can skip these steps.

• Drop down to the button of the window.
• Under Popular Installs there is a Mybb icon. Click on it.
• Click Install Now.
• Leave Choose Protocol, Choose Domain and In Directory the same.
• For the following:
  • Site Name - Your site's name.
  • Board Name - Your board's name.
  • Board Email - leave as.
  • Admin Username - Your username.
  • Admin Email - Your email. Pick one you typically use because this is the account that will receive any notifications.
• Click Save.
• The script will run to install your forum.
• Once the script has been run, you will be given a link to your forum and administrator profile. Don't leave the CPanel yet!

The Import of the database!

• Click on RPG Initiative at the top of the screen to go back to the CPanel homepage.
• Click on phpMyAdmin
• A new tab will open.
• In the new tab, click on the database that was created as part of the installation process. It will be called something like cpanelusername_mybb375 (the numbers are random).
• When you click on the database, all of your database details will load. Click on Import.
• Click Choose File.
• Navigate to the database you downloaded earlier and click open.
• Click Go.
• Wait.
• A pop up will let you know when it's done.
• If this process fails for you, please just ask for help here. If you're with another host, you should contact them, not us!

Once this is done! We need to make some changes to your configuration files!

• Go to CPanel
• Click on File Manager
• Click on Public_HTML > Inc > Config.php
• Right click and download the config file as a backup.
• Now right click and click on edit and ok.
• Find

$config['database']['table_prefix'] = 'name_';

Name varies. Make sure that name matches the name of your tables. You can find your table names by going to PHP Myadmin, clicking on your database and noting the first word in all of the tables.

In my case, it is pirates! So I would have:

$config['database']['table_prefix'] = 'pirates_';

Now you can go to your forum and see all of your accounts, posts and forums. Things might look janky. Don't worry, we still have some work to do.

Icyboards is a heavily modified version of mybb and some of those settings have come across with the database. We need to alter these.

• Go to your new forum and log into your Admin CP.
• Click on Configuration
• Settings
• Site details
  • Board URL - your new forum's URL. Do NOT include the trailing slash. So pirates.com not pirates.com/
  • Homepage URL - Your new forum's URL.
  • Cookie Domain - empty it
  • Click on Save Settings
• Go to Configuration > Settings > Profile Options
  • Scoll down to Avatar Upload Path and make sure that it's set to 

    ./uploads

     

• Go to Configuration > Settings > Server & Optimization Options
  • Scroll down to Uploads Path and change the value to
    
    ./uploads
  • Scroll down to Use a CDN? Select No and save settings.
• Reload your site. Do a hard refresh. It should be loading correctly now!
• Head back to your CPanel.
• Go to File Manager
  • Right click on Public_HTML > Inc > settings.php download it to back up the file.
  • Right click and edit. Click Edit.
  • Find 

    $settings['cdnurl'] = "https://static18.icyboards.net/pirates";

    Where the end word is your icyboard's forum URL. Can't find it or any cdnurl? Good! Skip the next step.

  • Make sure to empty it

    $settings['cdnurl'] = "";

     

  • Find 

    $settings['avataruploadpath'] = "./uploads/avatars";

     

  • Make sure the upload path mirrors the above.

  • Find 

    $settings['cookiedomain'] = ".icyboards stuff here";

    Make sure it's changed to your own domain, so for my site it's

  • $settings['cookiedomain'] = ".kit.wootflakes.com";

     

  • Click on save.

That should do the bulk of the work for you! If you find yourself being redirected back to icyboards at all, have a look at your templates and make sure you haven't put the old URL in there. If you have, just correct it.

If you have been with icyboards for a while, you might want to update your javascripts. These are in the headerinclude template. Find something like this:

<script type="text/javascript" src="{$mybb->asset_url}/jscripts/jquery.js?ver=1806"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="{$mybb->asset_url}/jscripts/jquery.plugins.min.js?ver=1806"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="{$mybb->asset_url}/jscripts/general.js?ver=1807"></script>

Make sure they are:

<script type="text/javascript" src="{$mybb->asset_url}/jscripts/jquery.js?ver=1813"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="{$mybb->asset_url}/jscripts/jquery.plugins.min.js?ver=1813"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="{$mybb->asset_url}/jscripts/general.js?ver=1815"></script>

These files should have been installed when you installed mybb.

Avatars

Avatars will probably be missing from the database. To access them you will need to ask Spork to download your UPLOADS folder. This folder will contain anything you have uploaded, like attachments and avatars. When you contact him, make sure to include the URL for the forum you want the uploads folder for.

Once you have the folder, upload the contents of the Avatars folder via File Manager by going File Manager > Public_HTML > Uploads > Avatars . Click upload and upload the files in the folder Spork has send to you.

Theme Images

Make sure to upload your theme's images to your new hosting! You would typically want to upload them to Public HTML > Images > [Create New Folder - Theme Name]

Fin! - Hopefully

If you are using hosting with us, please reach out if you run into any problems. If you are using a different hosting service, I recommend that you reach out to them.

Best of luck with the switch!