Upgrading from 1.9.19

Upgrading from 1.9.19

by Josh OS -
Number of replies: 10

Hello.

The company I work for are running a Moodle installation - I wanted to ask for advice on the best method to upgrade to latest from version 1.9.19. I understand that to do certain upgrades, previous versions need to be installed first.

It seems the order I need to install is as follows:

  • 1.9.19 -> 2.2
  • 2.2 -> 2.7
  • 2.7 -> 3.1
  • 3.1 -> 3.5 (Also upgrade to PHP 7.0)
  • 3.5 -> 3.9.2 (Also upgrade to PHP 7.2)

However, when looking at the downloads section for Moodle, I can't see 2.2 specifically, however I can find 2.2.11. Is this version still a compatible option for the abovementioned upgrade path?


In addition to this, some extra questions: 

  • What potential issues may I face while performing these upgrades, and is there any quicker / easier way to update?
  • When I upgrade the PHP version at 3.1, is it safe to go straight to the latest version of PHP (7.4.10)?
  • Lastly, is there a way to enable auto-updates or a one-click update option akin to platforms such as Wordpress?

Thank you very much for your time and assistance.

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In reply to Josh OS

Re: Upgrading from 1.9.19

by Emma Richardson -
Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Plugin developers

Yes, you always want to use the latest version of each jump which is the version available for download.  You also want to make sure that you download the appropriate version of any plugins that you have installed.  And check your folder permissions on each jump.

If you want to keep data, this is the only way to do it.  If you do not have a lot of plugins, it should go fairly smooth - you will need to look at database stuff along the way too but with an upgrade, the changes are normally not required but recommended so you should be able to get all the way to 3.9 and then run the moodle database upgrade tool to bring your database in line with new requirements.

If one jump does not work, check your php version, your plugins, your permissions and how to turn on debugging in your config.php.  Then you should be able to google any error messages and find your answers.  Oh, and no you cannot jump straight to php 7.4 - you have to do the interim php jump too.

A lot of people might try and warn you against doing this - I have done several of these upgrades and they really are not as bad as you think!  Just make sure you have a backup in place before each jump.

Good luck!

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In reply to Emma Richardson

Re: Upgrading from 1.9.19

by Josh OS -
Truth be told I'm very uninformed with Moodle, I'm relatively new to the company. I've searched about a bit inside of Moodle and on Google, but not finding any clear-cut answers. Where do I go to check if I have any plugins installed?

A guide I found implied "Administration > Site administration > Plugins" is the path to take, yet there's no plugins option within our admin panel.
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In reply to Josh OS

Re: Upgrading from 1.9.19

by Emma Richardson -
Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Plugin developers
In 1.9 the plugins are still separated out so look for Mod/modules, blocks etc...
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In reply to Emma Richardson

Re: Upgrading from 1.9.19

by Josh OS -
Linked here is an image of the Modules section, does this imply there's any plugins installed, or perhaps would I be better off looking via FTP?

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In reply to Josh OS

Re: Upgrading from 1.9.19

by Ken Task -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers

This is soooo old I don't really remember now ... but follow the 'manage' links for blocks and mods.   There you might see an 'additional' link which would list non-core blocks/mods.   But, you could also have addons/plugins for other areas ... like reports, or assignments, or editor ...

Guess you could download a 1.9.highest code, unzip it locally, make notes on what is found in mod, blocks, theme ... and then compare!

Best laid plans however do go a little south sometimes ... your first upgrade from 1.9.x to 2.x will educate you for sure! ;)

'SoS', Ken

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In reply to Ken Task

Re: Upgrading from 1.9.19

by Josh OS -

Ahah, yeah, this is indeed very out of date. I'll see what I can manage, thanks for the tip of downloaidng a core installation and comparing!

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In reply to Josh OS

Re: Upgrading from 1.9.19

by Ken Task -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers

Cart before horse ... fact you are running such an old version of Moodle could mean your operating system is also old ... and out of date.

Linux?

uname -an as root user

Then check kernel vs 'end of life' info for distro.

When you do begin ... strongly suggest using git for your 'moodle march'.

https://docs.moodle.org/39/en/Git_for_Administrators

My 2 'sense' ...

'SoS', Ken

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In reply to Ken Task

Re: Upgrading from 1.9.19

by Josh OS -
Thanks for the advice, I'll pass this onto the person who manages the servers.
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In reply to Josh OS

Re: Upgrading from 1.9.19

by Visvanath Ratnaweera -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Translators
Also note that the required versions of system software, basically PHP and MySQL/MariaDB, change along the process. Here's a summary: http://www.syndrega.ch/blog/#php-and-dbms-compatibility-of-major-moodle-releases.
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In reply to Visvanath Ratnaweera

Re: Upgrading from 1.9.19

by Josh OS -
Thank you, this list is very useful! Good to know there's both a minimum and a maximum PHP version / MySQL version for each installation.
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