Installing Vanilla 2.5.2

Capricorn

Hello,
I read the README file for the version and followed these steps.
I uploaded the zip file to my webhosting CPanel folder (running 5.6 php ver - I can't run 7.1 because I have an older forum which breaks on that ver)) which I created for the forum. I called it /forums.
I extracted the zip file to the same folder.
I also created a new database.

The README file is not clear on what to do next.
When I go to http://<mydomain.com>/forums, I see the zip file link and parent directory link.

What is my next step?

Thanks

R_J

Just make sure that the content of the zip file is in the root folder of your web space and that those files are not in an additional folder.

As an example: if the folder of your web space is called "/html/forums" you must have "/html/forums/index.php" and
"/html/forums/conf/config-defaults.php" etc.,

but not
"/html/forums/vanilla/index.php"
"/html/forums/vanilla/conf/config-defaults.php"

Capricorn

Thanks for the reply.
Yes, the index file is in the root folder -/forums.
I also have the folder permissions to 777.
Same issue with 2.3 version too.
I will try next on GoDaddy to see if I get the same issue.

R_J

If you see the file is in the "correct" folder in CPanel but you do not see it when you go to your domain with a web browser, either a) it is not in the correct folder or b) you do not have PHP enabled on your server

Capricorn

I have PHP 5.6 enabled. I am running a Vanilla Forum (2.1.9) and a Wordpress site on the same CPanel in different folders. And the older Vanilla forum is the reason I am running 5.6 instead of 7.1 PHP version.
My objective is to add a 2.5.x Vanilla forum, point the database to the new one and get rid of the old one. I do not want to risk upgrading the 2.1.9 to 2.5.x.

And I am pretty sure I am typing the correct url.

I completely erased the folder, started a new folder and now I am seeing this:

**
Error 500 - Internal Server Error**
An error was encountered while processing your request. Typically this is a temporary condition. Please contact the web site owner for further assistance.

R_J

Sorry my last comment sounded more rude than I had intended, I can assure it's just the speech barrier.

I'm also sure you are typing the correct url. I'm just not sure if the url points to the directory where the Vanilla index.php is. I'm not used to CPanel and I do not know how easy it is to configure and to make sure that everything is set up correctly.

The error 500 is a server error. Therefore you would have to find out where you can see the log files of your web server and inspect what you find there.

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By the way: just recently I was doing a Vanilla update remotely on someone else's machine and I wanted to make sure that everything would run smoothly by doing exactly what you are planning to do right now. It took one hour of time before we managed to get everything right and install that new forum.

That new installation somehow (I really do not know what happened) interfered with the old forum and therefore I was forced to act quickly to get the forum to a running state again quickly and guess what I did: I simply updated that old instance by copying over all files, deleting two plugins and another file, running /utility/structure and /utility/update multiple times, clearing the cache somewhere in the middle.

I would recommend an update if the following conditions are met:
1. you have a database backup
2. you have a file backup
3. your forum can be down for one or two hours without a problem/business impact

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If your WordPress has no problems with PHP7, I would recommend to use PHP7 and Vanilla 2.6. If your WordPress has problems with PHP7 I would recommend to also upgrade that version.

Capricorn

Thanks R_J. No need to apologize and I didn't think you were rude in the first place.

I am going to contact the web hosting provider to check if any issues on the VPS/cPanel.

I will keep you posted.