first time upgrader - I'm a little confused

first time upgrader - I'm a little confused

by Peter Eckstein -
Number of replies: 16

I'm about to upgrade my  2.5 version to 2.7.  My server is with hostgator.  I've been following the directions on the Upgrading page in moodle docs.  I've backed everything up, made sure that my server runs php 5.5 and am ready to go.  As I go through the steps something confuses me.


Under the heading "Standard Install" there is a heading called "linux", with instructions including something about cron.


I'm doing a standard install.  Do i just ignore this heading?  In terms of the cron job, when i upgrade, won't that be adjusted automatically?  Do I need to reconfigure that?

Also, the directions say: 

"Finishing the upgrade

The last step is to trigger the upgrade processes within Moodle.

To do this just go to Administration > Site administration > Notifications.

Moodle will automatically detect the new version and perform all the SQL database or file system upgrades that are necessary. If there is anything it can't do itself (very rare) then you will see messages telling you what you need to do."

If I'm moving my old moodle to a new directory, how can I log into that when i've changed the location (I access my current install with "mysitename/moodle" I'm a little confused here. 


Can someone help me?


Thanks!


Peter

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In reply to Peter Eckstein

Re: first time upgrader - I'm a little confused

by Guillermo Madero -

Hello Peter,

Regardless of the server OS, a cron job should be running because that takes care of many tasks like sending email, deleting deleted files, etc. But you do not need to worry about it during the upgrade; one starts dealing with cron once Moodle is installed and working. Anyway, if you had a cron job running, and you don't change the location of your installation, you needn't worry because cron.php script remains at the same path.

Why would you need to move your installation to a new location? The upgrade process basically goes like this:

1. Backup everything (Moodle installation directory, moodledata directory and Moodle database); and test that the backup works fine.

2. Rename the original moodle installation directory (e.g. moodle_old).

3. Unpack the new version.

4. Copy the Moodle config.php configuration file from the original directory (moodle_old) into the new one (moodle).

5. Open your browser and go to your Moodle site. Let the upgrade process run.

 

If you have installed custom plugins you need to take them into account; that is, you would need to upgrade them too (see the related documentation).

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In reply to Guillermo Madero

Re: first time upgrader - I'm a little confused

by Peter Eckstein -

Thanks for responding!  The reason why I'd move it is because the instructions on the upgrading document page (http://docs.moodle.org/27/en/Upgrading)  say:


  1. Move your old Moodle software program files to another location. Do NOT copy new files over the old files.

So....what am I misunderstanding? What you're suggesting is that I rename my moodle folder, then create a folder called moodle, and then unzip the package to there?

Regarding the cron.php, i just checked its location and it is in the /moodle directory which I'm supposed to rename.  so.....I guess, I'm still confused.  

Peter


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In reply to Peter Eckstein

Re: first time upgrader - I'm a little confused

by Bret Miller -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers

Assuming people use the Moodle installation, they have a URL to access it, and that will change if you don't put it back in the same place as it is now. In addition, there are often files in the current moodle install that are obsoleted in a new version so they are unnecessary, could cause problems with Moodle, and could expose a security hole in the future. That's why the instructions have to rename the current install directory and create a new one. Renaming is safer than deleting in that if you have to put it back, you still have it. Once the new version is installed and working, you can delete the old directory.

The Moodle zip file starts with a directory of "moodle" so if your current install is there, you can simply rename it and unzip in the parent directory as the unzip process itself will create the moodle directory.

As for the cron job, as long as you are simply upgrading Moodle, most of the time the cron job will just continue to run. There are exceptions, as when they moved it from admin to admin/cli several versions ago, or if you're using a fixed path to php and the php version changed.

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In reply to Bret Miller

Re: first time upgrader - I'm a little confused

by Peter Eckstein -

Thanks!!!!!!!

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In reply to Peter Eckstein

Re: first time upgrader - I'm a little confused

by syed kassim -

Hi All smile ,

This post is helpful to me as well.

I am also trying to upgrade moodle for the first time , it took me 1 month to understand it, I have taken the database back up and the (moodle and moodle_data) and trying to test it locally.

Im upgrading from 2.0.3, do i have to upgrade to the latest or should i have to upgrade to 2.2.11. Please give me complete instructions to upgrade it to 2.7. 

 Im little confused and feeling horrible sad

Thank you!

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In reply to syed kassim

I'm also little confused

by syed kassim -

Hi Guys any help please?



Moodle 2.7 or later requires at least PHP 5.4.4 (currently using version 5.3.10-1ubuntu3).

Please upgrade your server software or install older Moodle version.



Thanks and Regards

Syed Kassim Faisal

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In reply to syed kassim

Re: I'm also little confused

by Terry Brown -

Hi Syed,


If only it was as as easy as install PHP 5. There are so many other variables and learning curves along the installation pathway (some are version-based and some are vps provider-based). As an example, it has taken me 2 days to get a few pages in to the installation process. Then, I come across another roadblock. In the end I start to think 'if I invest another day in trying to figure out this scant information (or waiting for 12-24 hours for a reply from my IP) what will be on the next page'. Installing Moodle 2.7 on godaddy shared hosting took one click and 60 seconds of waiting before it became fully functional. Installing Moodle 2.7 on godaddy vps has take (so far) 2 day and a major loss of hair. Any advice on the attached screenshot would be appreciated. I have a vps using CENTOS 6.5 x86_64 (WHM vps optimised) cpanel.


Thanks,  Terry

Attachment 6.jpg
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In reply to Terry Brown

Re: I'm also little confused

by syed kassim -

Hi Guillermo ,


Thank you for your valuable advice i have upgraded to 2.2.11. Looking forward to upgrading to 2.7 , once i upgrade my php version to 5.4.4 or above , then will start it.


Hi Terry ,

I'm totally new to moodle hence i'm not sure about that error message in that screen shot. 

Please ask the experts they will surely help you!


Thanks and Regards

Syed Kassim Faisal. 

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In reply to Terry Brown

Re: I'm also little confused

by Guillermo Madero -

Terry,

That means that you have to enable those extensions in the PHP php.ini configuration file. Please see:

http://docs.moodle.org/27/en/admin/environment/php_extension/zip
https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=215652

http://docs.moodle.org/27/en/admin/environment/php_extension/gd

Or try the search option:
https://moodle.org/public/search/

 

--- External references

http://php.net/manual/en/zip.installation.php

http://php.net/manual/en/book.image.php
http://php.net/manual/en/image.installation.php

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In reply to Guillermo Madero

Re: I'm also little confused

by Howard Miller -
Picture of Core developers Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Peer reviewers Picture of Plugin developers

You only enable extensions in php.ini if the OS is Windows. In Ubuntu/Linux the extension either needs to be compiled in or needs to be added via the package manager. The latter is much more likely. 

If you are on some sort of hosting all these wrong PHP versions and missing modules come down to one thing - ask your host's support service how to fix it. It'll probably be quicker than asking us. Once you have the server matching Moodle's requirements we can get on with solving your actual Moodle problems. 

I sound a bit miserable, but we aren't best placed to know how your server was set up so it's always better to ask the right people. 

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In reply to Howard Miller

Re: I'm also little confused

by Guillermo Madero -

Hello Howard,

Was this for me? If so, yes, I'm a Windows user (years and years since I worked in Unix --before the Internet era--); however, and I may be wrong, but as fas as I know, in Ubuntu/Linux one can open the php.ini configuration file and comment or uncomment (by using a semi-colon at the beginning of the line) a particular installed module:

extension=mcrypt.so   ;enabled
;extension=mcrypt.so  ;disabled

I don't know if the gd and zip extensions have their own .ini (dot ini) files (instead of being defined in php.ini), like gd.ini and zip.ini, but I think the same principle applies, that is, one comments or uncomments any lines in them).

Anyway, for the sake of correctness smile I'll rephrase:

Terry,
That means that you have to install and/or enable (whichever applies) those extensions. Please see...
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In reply to Guillermo Madero

Re: I'm also little confused

by Howard Miller -
Picture of Core developers Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Peer reviewers Picture of Plugin developers

I've never seen that, only the equivalent for .dll in Windows. That *might* apply to some types of installation but not on Debian and Redhat Linux derivatives AFAIK. It's all done with apt/yum modules.

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In reply to Howard Miller

Re: I'm also little confused

by Guillermo Madero -

Yes, for each OS there seems to be a particular way of doing this. I'm not into Unix/Linux and I didn't get the "I've never seen that", so I'll provide some references regarding each case.

* download some-extension.so; uncomment some-extension.so in file php.ini:

Install and enable APC on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS.

How to enable zip extension for PHP on Linux/Ubuntu (zip.so, php.ini).

* install some-extension.so; uncomment some-extension.so in file some-extension.ini:

Install APC in RHEL/CentOS 6/5 & Fedora 20-12.

CentOS: APC configuration and usage tips and tricks.

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In reply to Guillermo Madero

Re: I'm also little confused

by syed kassim -

Hi All ,

I tried in my local server upgrading from 2.0.3 to 2.2  but because it had php version 5.3 i could'nt upgrade to 2.7. Hence I copied moodle and moodle_data into my laptop and im using XAMPP.


When i copied its showing me error in config file. Please check the screenshot below and let me know the error. 

Thank you in advance.


Attachment Capture.PNG
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