New installation of Joomla will not pick up old database

[da8wonder]

Hello. I recently upgraded to a newer version of Joomla, 3.9 (from 2.5) via GoDaddy. Everything is looking great as far as the install, I can access the admin panel and everything. However, I attached it to an existing database already on the server and it will not bring over my old content (Articles, Modules, etc.) I checked my configuration file on the server and all looks good. I am stuck as far as what to do. Please help. I will die if I have to create all my pages from scratch again.

Thanks,

[Matt Bourne]

Hi

I don't think you can upgrade your old 2.5 version to 3.9 that simple click if not mistaken, you need to get on few pit stops of version but manageable, perhaps you need to do it again

Don't worry, alternatively, you can copy your old contents, user database, articles, menus and such using this free great tool

https://extensions.joomla.org/extension/j2xml/

Thanks

[da8wonder]

So are you saying perhaps roll back to 3.2, then gradually migrate up to 3.9?

[Matt Bourne]

Let's start again,

You did upgrade your Joomla site from 2.5 to 3.9, does it leap that much, automatically from 2.5 directly to 3.9?

Or you were presented step by step, from 2.5 to 3.0 and then from 3.0 to 3.5 to finally 3.9?

On which version you see all your old contents is missing?

[da8wonder]

I use GoDaddy as my hosting platform and it did allow me to go from 2.5 to 3.9 without any issue. I don't see my content in the new version.

[AMurray]

That might be the issue - relying on the Host's "upgrade" methods might have toasted your site permanently - especially when a mini migration is concerned between two major releases (2.5 / 3.x), it would have been better if you had followed the upgrade instructions per those found on this forum.
viewtopic.php?f=710&t=793171

[Per Yngve Berg]

Check the database prefix. If 3.9 was installed with a different prefix, you will see both sets of tables in your database.

[da8wonder]

Per Yngve Berg, as a matter of fact the database prefix references an entirely different database that I'm not pointing to for my content. I am really confused.

A Murray,
Are you telling me that I will need to re-create my site from scratch all over again? Or should I uninstall and then upgrade to another (earlier) version first and see what happens?

[AMurray]

If you can restore from a backup to your original site - yes start the update over, following the migration instructions I previously referred to - assuming you did a backup before updating, to allow for any problems, such as the current issue you're having.

My advice about avoiding either a Host's own upgrade scripts or something like Softaculous is only based on the many other similar posts on this forum and the same advice was given to other users.

[leolam]

You have botched your (mini)migration. Roll back to your backup and follow my guide Andy referred at. You have no alternative. My guide is an extract of the migration/upgrade guide we wrote for the docs section.

Leo

[da8wonder]

Leo,
You are right, I have botched my migration. However, I think I had no choice. The migration kept failing as I was trying to upgrade to 3.9.1 and the server made me delete my existing instance altogether. So now I am starting from scratch as if Joomla was never installed before. I confirmed my database is still there and intact as I restored from a backup. (whew!) So, should I simply install 3.5.1 and then do any additional upgrades from there? The server has many different versions out there so I can go back as far as I want. I apologize if I am confusing things. I am not an expert at this, that's why I'm talking to you all.

[sozzled]

I am starting from scratch as if Joomla was never installed before. ... So, should I simply install 3.5.1 and then do any additional upgrades from there?

Why would you want to start with an outdated version of Joomla? This makes absolutely no sense to me. Why not start with J! 3.9.1?

Migrating the [database] content from J! 2.5.something involves converting the database tables from J! 2.5 format into J! 3.x format. There are tools that will assist you with the database conversion (see the Joomla Extension Directory for a list of migration tools). Generally-speaking, J! 2.5 content—in the database—cannot be simply attached to a J! 3.x website without reconstructing the database tables (to add new columns, etc.)

GoDaddy ... *sigh* well, enough said already. You got what you paid for.

[da8wonder]

Sozzled, tell me if you think this would work as an alternative please.

1. Install Joomla 3.9.1 and allow it to create a "new" database
2. Copy my old data from 2.5 and put it into the new database created in step 1

Again, I appreciate everyone's help with this. I am not well versed in MySQL so I'm learning.

[sozzled]

It won't work unless you convert your J! 2.5.something database tables to J! 3.x format. As I wrote before, there are database conversion tools in the JED.

[da8wonder]

Update: I actually got it to work. Hopefully these steps will work for anyone that runs into the same problem i did.

1. I rolled all the way back to my original Joomla version - 2.5.19. **Allow the application to create a new database on the server, DO NOT connect to existing database**
2. Drop all records from the database just created through PHPMyAdmin
3. Import records/tables from a backed up database to the new database just created
4. I then logged into the administrator panel to see how everything looked. It looked like it did before all this started.
5. I then was able to clear my cache and find an update to Joomla version 3.5.1
6. By using the administrator tools, it converted the database to a usable format in the 3.5.1 version and installed the application.
7. Voila' - the upgrade took and all my data (minus a couple of modules here and there that were not compatible) is there.

Hopefully these steps will work for anyone that runs into the same problem i did. I appreciate everyone's input. It forced me to think of how to attack it from a different angle.

[leolam]

It is as simple as that indeed. You cannot mix databases and files from 2 different branches i.e. J25 and J30. This is why we call this a (mini)migration. We will publish articles again like guides and tutorials when Joomla 4.0 is released and you need a (mini) migration from J3x to J4x. Read those the next time I suggest before action so you learn about the possible pitfalls in advance!

Leo