There is a converter to go from IPB 1.3 to phpBB2. I've used it to get from IPB 1.3 (Jcink) to MyBB. (Since you can't really convert directly from IPB 1.3 to MyBB 1.6...) So I can attest that it does work.
Here's the link to the converter.
From here you need to set up your web server... I recommend using Xampp (but you can use whatever you prefer) rather than your live server simply because this way you don't use any of your liver server's resources. (Additionally, depending on your hosting, you may not be able to make the following changes to your php file so the transfer will fail every time.) If the conversion uses too much CPU/RAM for too long on your self-hosted site it could end up with your site getting suspended/stopped. So best to do this offline if possible.
You'll also probably need to edit php.ini (with notepad or your favourite plain text editor) located in the xampp/php directory. (If you use something other than Xampp, the location may be different. But there should still be a php.ini file somewhere with these variables.)
Look for:
- "max_execution_time=" and set it to something like 9000 (this way your conversion script doesn't accidentally time out halfway.)
- "max_input_time=" and set it to -1 (This way your script can process incoming data for as long as it needs.)
- "memory_limit=" and set that to something like 1024M or even 2048M (if you have less than 4GB of ram don't put a value higher than 1024M. But if you have more than 4GB then feel free to use 2048M just to help speed things up some.)
- "upload_max_filesize=" and set it to at least 200M. (This way you can upload larger files to PHPMyAdmin without worry. Though you probably won't need much more than 200M unless your forum is pretty huge... Like 200,000 posts or more.)
Finally save the php.ini file and close it.
The Process
Now...
0- Open Xampp (or your preferred program) and make sure running both the MySQL and Apache parts are running. (See the attached image. )
1- Open your web browser and type "localhost/phpmyadmin" with Xampp running. (This will open the tool to create a database.)
2- Create the empty database first. (In PhpMyAdmin, on home screen click "Databases" from top. Then enter the name of the new one and click "create".)
3- Install a copy of phpBB2 (you can get it from Sourceforge), be sure to set the database name as whatever you created in step 1. (When using Xampp, the default username is root and the password is blank/no password set.)
4- Import your JFH database into the same database where you installed phpBB2.
5- Unzip ib2phpBB_1_3b.zip and put it in the root phpBB2 folder.
6- Then open conf.php in the converter script's folder with a text editor (ex- notepad) and set $ib_prefix = "" to whatever your forum's prefix is. (EX- $ib_prefix = "yoursite_") and save that file.
7- Run that conversion script by typing the pathname to it in your web browser... EX- localhost\phpBB2\ib2phpBB_1_3b\index.php and pressing enter/go. (how long it'll take varies depending on how large your forum is. But just follow the steps, making sure to wait for it to tell you it's finished before starting the next one.)
- Optional - Take the time here to fix up any issues with forum permissions/layout/etc... while your site is offline.
8- After it completes, and before you upload it to your live server, use PhpMyAdmin to open the phpbb_config and change "server_name" to whatever your url will be. (So if you have sub.domain.tld then put that, but if you're using domain.tld then use that.)
And set "script_path" to whatever folder you've installed it into. So if you're having it at like domain.tld/forum then you'd enter "forum" here. (If you're setting this in the main directory then you should leave this blank.)
After that you can then run the conversion script to go from phpBB2 to phpBB3.
From here you can now transfer to most major forum softwares (MyBB, SMF, Xenforo, IPB, etc...) Please keep in mind however that, like mentioned on the IP2PHPBB download page there are things which will not convert and things that will need to be redone.
Troubleshooting
Issue: No posts are showing up after the conversion ended.
Fix: The most likely reason is the script reached it's timeout limit and not everything got converted (so it abandoned everything). Open your php.ini file and set the max execution time even higher then try again.
Issue: I get an error like:
Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Call to undefined function set_magic_quotes_runtime() in C:\xampp\htdocs\forum\common.php:29 Stack trace: #0 C:\xampp\htdocs\forum\index.php(26): include() #1 {main} thrown in C:\xampp\htdocs\forum\common.php on line 29
Fix: This error is an issue with how phpbb handles an old, now depreciated, php function. If you feel confident editing code you can open the named php file and locate "set_magic_quotes_runtime() " and replace it with "ini_set('magic_quotes_runtime', 0);"
Alternatively you can null the line by adding "@" before it. Or you can open your php.ini and change
Quote
magic_quotes_gpc = Off
magic_quotes_runtime = Off
error_reporting = E_ALL | E_STRICT
display_errors = On
to
Quote
magic_quotes_gpc = Off
magic_quotes_runtime = Off
error_reporting = Off
display_errors = Off
Finally you can reinstall phpBB 2 and try running the conversion process again.
