Note: I have searched the forum with various different criteria to try and answer my question, but my procedure will be complex, so I figure one thread will not hurt.

I am currently running an Access 2002 ver 6.34 of WWF on my website http://www.blastwave.org.uk - www.blastwave.org.uk .

There have been some technical errors in the CSS and deletion of files unintentionally [do not do site work drunk, ever.]

Long story short I think it would be advisable for me to overhaul my forums.

Firstly I'd like to ask:

Is it possible to keep members/threads/forums when transferring over from v6x to v7x, and also, from an Access db to an SQL?

First of all I should point out when I uploaded my forums back in September I had Access 2002, since then I have had to reformat the computer and only managed to get hold of Access 2000 afterwards. So I can't actually manually edit my database as it is too new.

My aim is to use the migration tool to bring over all the info [most importantly the forum set up and members' profiles] so it will function in v7x.

After this:

Would it be possible to transfer this database from Access over to SQL?

This is necessary, but it'd be much more reliable for Blastwave's BB on the whole.

If anyone can help out on this subject help would be appreciated, I webmaster the site and officiate and organize content, editing, design and HTML but do not do the ASP and database work, I had a specialist doing this for the site who has recently.. disappeared, if anyone is interested in taking up any sort of poisition mailto:webmaster@blastwave.org.uk - webmaster@blastwave.org.uk <--- that's where to go.

And hey, if yuou dont' want to do anyhting permanent that's cool, but if you can help here for this one bit it would be great, using messsage boards for instructions can confuse sometimes, my MSN is @ mailto:sul_13@hotmail.com - sul_13@hotmail.com - I have gone over my contacts limit, but am trying to delete some so feel free to add me there as well.

Thanks for reading, or.. not.

- Orion

Access Migration

You cannot safely run Forums without any means to perform offline surgery to the Access DB in an emergency. Although scripts exist to compact/repair the DB, I prefer the offline method in any event. You would be better off converting DB back to Access 2K so at least you have the tools available when needed. 

Fortunately, there is an easy solution. Simply download the Forum v7 Access 2000 version as well as the Migrator in the same section and follow instructions. The migrator will successfully link to 2000 AND 2002 DBs when running Access 2K although you cannot directly open the latter.

You would need to go down this route anyway, whether or not you upsize to the SQL version. 

Okay.. got that, thanks.

So d/l'ing the 7.0 in Access and using the migrator to transfer my files from 6x to 7x will work? Including members and forum set-up? Even though we're going "back in time" so to speak, in means of Access versions?

If you are a registered user of Access 2002 Microsoft will send you a new disk.

It will not setup the members and group permissions functions. You will have to manually do that for each group and member.

However, the migrator WILL successfully take you from a v6.34 to v7.01. If you were the administrator for v6.34 then after you upgrade to v7.01 you will need to login using the default with the forum. Go into the admin section and use the CHANGE ADMIN USERNAME/PASSWORD selection to change it back to your v6.34 user/pass so that your posts re-align with your username.

I literally just finished doing a board with 35 members and 2032 posts on an Access 2000 v6.34 to v7.01 board.

http://www.rexpage.com/cotp/forum - http://www.rexpage.com/cotp/forum