Hi. Apologies for the stupid question, but I am somewhat of a computer noob. I need to update my self-hosted buzztouch files from 2.1.7 to 2.1.8 so that I can update all the plugins and whatnot. I think I can manage the process (i hope!) as I have done it once before, but I am really worried that I will accidentally overwrite my apps that are currently on the server when I do this. Last time I had to go through the laborious process of uploading the files one by one (my host server wouldn't let me do it any other way), so that is what I will be doing again (stick with what works!). So a couple of questions I was hoping people may be able to help with: 1. Is there a way to back up the apps? 2. Where are the app files kept? (i.e. what folder do I NOT want to swap with the 2.1.8 version). If I update buzztouch but lose my apps, I will cry! ;P

Hi bioninja, No risk of loosing your apps. All that data is stored in the database you created for the self-hosting server. All you need to do is unzip the 2.1.8 file, overwrite all the files (except the files folder, I think), and then run the web based install program again. That'll take care of it. It's all outlined in the documentation that comes with the download package. Mark

The apps are on your server, so when you backup the server, you backup the apps as well. If you are on cPanel, there is an icon for backing up the entire site. You can use that and then download the file to your computer and then that is backed up. You cannot use that file to bring back the data, should the need arise, but you can send the backup file back to the support of your host and they should be able to do a restore. Another way to backup your apps is to download only the files that Buzztouch uses. You can see which files are these by clicking on the admin link in your self hosted panel and then by clicking on Show Database Info on the left side. That would show you which files are used by BT and you can download only those files by using phpMyAdmin from your site's cPanel. And so on. But do as GoNorthWest said, follow the instructions to the T (read the PDF from the end) and everything will be ok.

Hello bioninja (luv that nick ;) I just did that. It is as Mark is saying. You replace all files exept the "files" folder on your server. That folder contain your apps files such as images, sounds and what not. But as always make a backup folder where you save a copy of all your files first. Better safe than sorry. You have a pdf file in the download package. Read it carefully. On your server you have a config.php file. You will need some credentials from that one to the new config file. Make sure you have a copy of this. Its things like database username, password etc. Good luck. Let us know how it went. BR/Stefan

What they said. ;) Cheers! -- Smug

So I am going through and replacing all the old files one by one, and I am noticing that there are some old files not being replaced because there are no new alternatives. Should I delete these older files or just leave them?

I didn't replace them one by one; I just did a blanket copy over. If there is an old file on my server, it either works, or isn't being called, because I have no problems... Cheers! -- Smug

Okay, hopefully my last question! I have overwritten all the files and am now trying to install. But on the first screen I get an error wrt the physical path and the root URL. The physical path I have listed is the path where all the files are stored (home2/mydomainname/public_html/buzztouch) The root URL is the address i'd type to access it (http://www.mydomainname/buzztouch) It is saying: "There is not a database on this server with that name. You need to create a new, empty database (no tables) before installing this software." Do I need to make an empty folder and use that? I don't remember this issue the last time... Please help! (And for what its worth, I am putting in my actual domain name - not mydomainname like i wrote above)

I went to the my SQL database wizard area and checked. The database exists from last time. Do I need to create a new one? Shouldn't i be able to use the one that exists (seeing as that is where I put all the files?)

You need to specify the exact same information you put in those same fields when you did you initial install. That's the only way to make sure your existing apps are accessible.

If you haven't modified your old config.php file yet, some of the values you used should be there from last time. And, if you're using the same browser you did when you performed the initial install, auto-fill might fill in some of the values also.

Thanks GNW. I had done a typo. My bad. All working now I think. One last question (I lied the last time it seems!): What is the API key secret? I put in the API key and URL into the config.php, but I couldn't find the secret so left it..

The secret is your API password. Go into your buzztouch.com account, find the self-hosted section, and there's info there that should take care of it. I ended up resetting my API secret, because I apparently couldn't recall what it was.

Thanks heaps GNW! That secret thing was screwing with my plugins update. Now all seems to be sweet.... hooray! (i hope)

Sweet! Rock on!

In case you lose your applications through this process is there a way to upload your project back to your server?

1. You shouldn't lose anything, overwriting is the standard procedure for installing new versions of Buzztouch server. 2. In case something really goes wrong, you should restore the data on server from the backup you have previously made.