These new releases contain either New features, Security updates or just simple irritating bug fixes. Whatever the contents keeping your Magento store up to date is something you should consider very seriously as a responsible E-Commerce store owner.
My post will explain the best method of upgrading your Magento store and I’ll show you what to do in case you have problems.
Firstly, before you do anything backup your stores file structure (Etc the public_html) directory and take a full SQL dump of your stores database.
-This is very important; many times upgrades fail and have to be recovered, if you don’t have this safety net you could be in big trouble!
I will now break the process down into Step by Step instructions. Please read them carefully before executing them onto your stores console.
The upgrade process is slightly different for the various versions. For instance you cannot upgrade from 1.4.1 to 1.6.2 directly. You need to do 2 upgrades, firstly 1.4.1. to 1.4.2 then 1.4.2 to 1.6.2 this is important, if you don’t do it this way then you will run into problems, with missing database constraints, missing tables, potentially destroying your store beyond repair!
Pre Upgrade Checklist
1. Backup Database
2. Backup public_html Directory or your equivalent.
3. Modify .htaccess file to this – This is important.
#Order allow,deny
#Allow from all
Order deny,allow
Deny from all
Allow from
4. Get a cup of tea and a chocolate biccy
Before doing anything, read the checklist and make sure you have followed it – Very Important!
Upgrading from versions lower than 1.4.2 (Not including 1.4.2)
DO NOT DO THIS IF YOUR STORE IS ON 1.4.2 OR HIGHER
1 ./pear upgrade -f magento-core/Mage_All_Latest-stable
Now you will probably see some errors here, just ignore them .. trust me, it will be ok.
This will have brought in all the relevant upgrade files required to move your store up to version 1.4.2, From here all you need to do is enter your stores web address in a browser and click enter, Don’t expect your site to load straight away, it will take 10 – 30 minutes on average to upgrade your store, while its upgrading the site will just be a white blank screen, but as long as you have followed the checklist nobody else will be able to get onto the site… once its done the store will load as normal only it will be on a new version. Now you will see a new file in your public_html called mage .. This will become clear in a minute.
If you get errors, reference the error section below:
If you can see your store .. Well Done! .. Now do the next part of the upgrade.
Upgrading from versions higher than 1.4.2 (Including 1.4.2)
DO NOT DO THIS IF YOUR STORE IS LESS THAN 1.4.2
1. chmod 550 ./mage
2. ./mage mage-setup .
3. ./mage config-set preferred_state stable
If you get the error: channel-add: Channel ‘community’ already exist .. Try this
php
-f downloader/mage.php channel-delete community
./mage mage-setup
./mage config-set preferred_state stable
***********************************************************************************
5. ./mage sync
6. ./mage upgrade-all –force
7. ./mage install http://connect20.magentocommerce.com/community Mage_All_Latest –force
This will now bring your store up to the latest stable version of Magento. All you need to do is enter your stores web address in a browser and click enter, Don’t expect your site to load straight away, I have known this upgrade take up to 2 hours, so don’t worry if it’s taking ages.. it is still doing something! While its upgrading the site will just be a white blank screen, but as long as you have followed the checklist nobody else will be able to get onto the site… once its done the store will load as normal only it will be on a new version.
If you get errors, reference the error section below:
Help .. Ive done something wrong! (Error Help)
If you get any errors during the upgrade, you will need to investigate the issues and resolve them. Most upgrade errors will be about Duplicate Keys / Table Creation Problems, Sometimes you can just refresh the page after an error and it will carry on. If after refreshing you still get an error you will need to do something about it.
The best way to solve this is to
A) Turn off all Extensions
B) Clear Cache (Delete var from the sites root .. NOT THE SYSTEM VAR!)
Sometimes you can get extension compatibility issues, this is where you have an extension installed that works great with an older version of Magento but now you have a new version of the core that extension no longer functions correctly. This is very common and unless you are a developer or have a good understanding of Magentos framework you will struggle to fix these issues yourself.
If you are still at the point and you are not sure what to do, you will probably need to ask for some help. Most Magento errors are cryptic and not normally very helpful this is because they are mostly intended for developers rather than users.. Don’t worry, just keep reading!
We Can Help!
Fisheye Webdesign can help you upgrade your store and offer ongoing support and maintenance, as well as host your website. We are even happy to help resolve your module conflicts and compatibility problems to bring your store up to the latest version without any headaches for you to worry about.
You can enjoy the peace of mind that we will have experienced Magento developers working to upgrade your store. Contact us now to find out how we can help your store.
The post How To Safely Upgrade Magento 1.4.1, 1.4.2 + to 1.6.2 appeared first on Fisheye.