updating from 2.5.19

[DaveTyson]

I have been tasked with updating a website which uses Joomla and Kunera forum software and these haven't been updated since 2014!

It's currently running Joomla 2.5.19 and Kunera 3.0.6, so is really a dinosaur!
Unfortunately the forum is very active with lots of users (~800) and there is a lot of useful historical data which means that starting from scratch isn't an option.

I have managed to dump a snapshot of the data onto a spare server so I can test upgrade strategies without impacting the production server. The idea being to see if I can get the system migrated to more recent versions of Joomla/Kunena.

An alternative would be to extract the forum data from the database and move it to another package like simple machines forum - there is a (broken) tool to do this for earlier versions of Kunena forum. Fortunately I do have some experience of programming with databases and might be an option if all else fails...

Having read lot of threads regarding Joomla upgrades I have tried to move to 2.5.28 by switching to 'short term' support and finding updates. This fails:

Update: :Collection: Could not open http://update.joomla.org/core/sts/list_sts.xml
Update: :Collection: Could not open http://update.joomla.org/jed/list.xml
Update: :Extension: Could not open http://www.joomlackeditor.com/upgrade/plg_jckeditor.xml
Update: :Extension: Could not open https://www.joomlacontenteditor.net/ind ... ension.xml
Update: :Collection: Could not open http://update.joomla.org/language/translationlist.xml

The joomlaackeditor site no longer exists and I guess everything else has moved to https...

I did try downloading the zip file for 2.5.28, unpacking it and then using the 'install from directory' command. That actually seemed to upgrade with a couple of errors about access to .htaccess.

I am not sure if this is the best way to proceed and would like some advice. Can I just plow ahead putting one version on after another to bring Joomla up to a supported version and then update Kunena?

Another issue is the software is currently running under php 5.6 - trying to run with later versions causes issues due to ancient features being deprecated. I guess I will be able to switch to later versions as newer versions of Joomla are installed...

If anyone has been in a similar situation and manged to move forward then I would be grateful for any advice. I know this is a big ask, but no-one else wants the job :-(

Cheers,
Dave

[toivo]

Welcome to the Joomla forum!

I have tried to move to 2.5.28 by switching to 'short term' support and finding updates. This fails:
Update: :Collection: Could not open http://update.joomla.org/core/sts/list_sts.xml

All the links you listed are valid and can be opened, as long as the website is available. CK Editor has gone, but JCE Editor and ARK Editor are popular Joomla editors.

Go to the cPanel or a similar page, provided by your host, check PHP extensions for the version of PHP the website is running and make sure the XML extensions are all enabled. If they are, contact your host and find out if they limit the type of requests the website can post to the internet.

If you would like to have a flexible text environment in Windows environment, download the Wampserver bundle. The Wampserver Forum has the installation instructions and how to make use of virtual host features.

The Joomla updates should be done using the Joomla! Update function from the Joomla menu. Trying just to overwrite the filesystem without running Joomla! Update that runs the update scripts will only lead to problems. If you have not already installed an old version of Akeeba Backup, backup the Joomla 2.5 site and run it up in a virtual host on Wampserver by using Akeeba's Kickstart utility.

Then you can start with PHP 5.6, available as a Wampserver extension, and update to Joomla 3.9. Install PHP 7.4 and check the compatibility of third party extensions, then install PHP 8.0 and do the same. Once the incompatible third party extensions are either updated or uninstalled, continue to Joomla 4 and 5 and the actively supported versions of PHP, like PHP 8.2 and PHP 8.3.

[Per Yngve Berg]

Use 3.4.8 as the first step. It can be Installed with the Extention Installer. This is the last version that do that. From here, use the Update Component.

https://downloads.joomla.org/cms/joomla ... format=zip

[DaveTyson]

Thank you both for your replies.

I think I have found the error which causes the errors:

Update: :Collection: Could not open http://update.joomla.org/core/sts/list_sts.xml

Joomla tries to open the url and gets a 301 error back (permanently moved) and doesn't know how to deal with the redirect and so fails.

I did try updating the sql table "jos_update_sites" to change the http to https - this does get rid of the error, but sadly no new updates are listed and the table mysteriously gets reset back to http later on.

I will persevere and try a few other options.

I do appreciate you taking the time and effort to reply,

Dave