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### Upgrading from YaBB 1.x

This section only applies to those converting YaBB 1.x data from an existing old forum to the new YaBB 2 data format.
First you will need to install a completely new version of YaBB 2.5.2!

#### Running the Converter

1. Before doing anything - in your YaBB 1 Gold forum, go to your Admin Center and run the forum maintenance utilities to make sure everything is up to date.
2. If your YaBB 1 Gold - SP 1.x forum is located on the same server as your YaBB 2.5.2 installation:
   - Insert the path to your YaBB 1 Gold - SP 1.x forum in the input field on the Converters start page - and go to point 4.
   Else if your YaBB 1 Gold - SP 1.x forum is located on a different server than your YaBB 2.5.2 installation or if you don't know the path to your SP 1.x forum:
   - You must upload the /Convert/Boards, /Convert/Members, /Convert/Messages and /Convert/Variables folders from the YaBB 2.5.2 zip package and CHMOD them 755.
     - drwxr-xr-x (CHMOD 755)cgi-bin/yabb2/Convert
     - drwxr-xr-x (CHMOD 755)cgi-bin/yabb2/Convert/Boards
     - drwxr-xr-x (CHMOD 755)cgi-bin/yabb2/Convert/Members
     - drwxr-xr-x (CHMOD 755)cgi-bin/yabb2/Convert/Messages
     - drwxr-xr-x (CHMOD 755)cgi-bin/yabb2/Convert/Variables
   - Copy all files from /Boards, /Members, and /Messages from your OLD YaBB 1.x forum to the corresponding /Convert folders in your NEW YaBB 2.5.2 installation. You must then copy Variables/cat.txt, Variables/attachments.txt, Variables/membergroups.txt, and (if it exists) Variables/MemberStats.txt from your OLD YaBB 1.x forum to the /Convert/Variables folder of the NEW YaBB 2.5.2. installation.
3. Point your browser to 'http://www.mysite.com/forum/Setup.pl' again to start the Converter. (Revise the URL as needed.)
4. The Converter will show the steps required to proceed. Make sure you have a backup of your existing YaBB 1.x data in a safe place!
5. You can now follow the on-screen instructions provided by the Converter. It will step you through its 5 steps by having you click the next step's link when it is time.
6. After converting you should be ready to login and test your new forum. Load YaBB.pl as shown in the previous setup stages (e.x. http://www.example.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl). Again, modify this URL to fit your specific website and YaBB installation location.
7. Once you are satisfied that your YaBB 1.x forum has properly been converted, use your FTP client to delete 'cgi-bin/yabb2/Setup.pl,' 'cgi-bin/yabb2/Variables/setup.lock' if it exists, and 'cgi-bin/yabb2/Variables/converter.lock'. This will prevent anyone from tampering with your forum using the Setup Utility.
8. YaBB 2.5.2 has many new features and settings so be sure to go over each section of the Admin Center and customize the settings to your forum - also make sure to turn on the anti-spam features and create custom questions in Anti-spam Question.