Transfering guestbook to a new server?

Hello there!

Due to severe problems with my previous site host I was forced to move my site to a new new. Boths hosts offer practically the same package (mySQL, PHP etc.). The new host also offers the installation of Advanced Guestbook V 2.3.3.

Now the problem is that I had a guestbook on my old server, which I updated to V 2.3.2 a while ago and customized it properly to fit to the style of the site, also I added a "confirmation password" in order to prevent spammers from getting in.

Question is: Can anyone recommend on how a transfer of the old guestbook to the new server could be accomplished? The main issue of course is to get the data over to the new server and if possible the customizations as well. It doesn't matter to me that it would stay at V 2.3.2 - if that would be possible to get the guestbook to the new location. - So: Would it be necessary to install something as I assume copying the old files and just pasting them on the new server won't work, and I don't even know if you can just grab a database and put it in (and where would that database file be anyway?).

I hope someone has experience on how this could be accomplished - I'd be very grateful if you could help me with this (at least to me) very difficult task.

To transfer the database you will need phpMyAdmin.

Thanks for a first answer, Carbonize!

I have phpMyAdmin on both servers... I can export e.g. a textfile of the database containing various SQL commands. At the export options there are however some checkboxes I don't entirely understand. They read:

Data:
Complete inserts
Extended inserts
Use delayed inserts
Use ignore inserts
Use hexadecimal for binary fields (only this is ticked by default)

Should any other of these checkboxes be ticked as well when I export the tables?

At any rate I could export SQL commands that way, so this looks good. But how should I progress from there, Carbonize?

Would you suggest that I should install the Advanced Guestbook V 2.3.3. the new servers offers and create an empty database there and then try to import the tables via the SQLs and then re-configure the templates manually? Would the database structures of V 2.3.2 and V 2.3.3 be compatible?

Or would it suffice to copy the folder structure and the content from the old server to the new one once the database is in place? If the latter is possible: Would I have to set certain permissions?

No you simply import th SQL file to the new server using phpMyAdmin, edit the config.inc.php file to reflect the new database settings then upload the files and that should be it.

Ok, so far so good... Database in its place, files are all uploaded. I only have a problem now with the database user:

In the config.inc.php file you need to specify the password of your user. However, it looks as if this is the encrypted version of the password you'd usually put in when installing the guestbook, so I'd need a way to convert my password to this algorithm to be able to put in the correct one. Got an idea how to do that, Carbonize?

No the MySQL password in config.inc.php is in plain text and is not encrypted.

Ah, indeed... I'm thinking too much

Anyway, works like a charm now...

Many thanks for the extremely helpful advice, Carbonize!

Hi
I have also a problem moving my database from one provider to another.
The old provider had C_panel and creating the guestbook was very easy.

The new provider does not have Cpanel, and when I log into MySql, there is no Import function.

Under MySql I don't have the rights to create new databases. Only use the database that is already created, with empty tables.

I can log into both MySql's - the old and the new. How can I move the guestbooks when there's no import function?
I'm pretty new to Sql

Kjell Iver
www.kjiver.no

Install phpMyAdmin and use that.

I finally got the advanced guestbook to work on the new server, but realised that the problem with Spam had to be solved. Just 10 minutes after the new guestbook was open it was flooded.

So I deleted the guestbook from my server, saving only the config.inc.php, downloaded the lazaruzgb and installed it locally.

Used ftp to transfer it over to my server, and copied the old config.inc.php into the admin directory.
Now nothing works. I get following message when I try the install script and the aupdate script:
Internal Server Error
The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.

Please contact the server administrator, webmaster@kjiver.no and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.

More information about this error may be available in the server error log.

Apache/1.3.33 Server at kjiver.no Port 80

Seems like the config.inc is very scrambled in the original lazarus-inc file. Is it another character set?
Do you have any solution? Still haven't found a solution on how to copy the data from the old server to the new one.
I have phpmyadmin on both servers, but don't understand how to import det data...
Thanks for the help!
Kjell Iver

There is not a .htaccess file in the root of Lazarus is there?

Jupp... There was... I removed it and now it is working.... !
Thanks!

You must of downloaded that a while ago as I have removed it now.

Strange. I just downloaded it. There is one in several of the other cataloges as well. Is it my FTP program that add's it...? I use LeechFTP...

Well I thought I had removed it anyway

. Have done now. In theory the .htaccess file turns on gzip to save your bandwidth but it was creating error s on some servers so I removed it.