Last night I got the sudden urge to upgrade to MovableType 3.2. I am not sure why, but I figured I'd see what happened. Well, 12 hours later and the upgrade is in, but all is not perfect.
I downloaded the new 3.2 upgrade files and read over the documentation. Next step was to create a back-up of my database files and start the upgrade process. The upload process went smoothly and so did MT-update.cgi. I had succesfully upgraded my databases to 3.2, or so I thought. I figured I could join Neville in having an easy upgrade.
Upon initial login I noticed that instead of the 400+ comments I had before, there were none listed. I took a look at the comments.db file and the data was still in there. I then checked a few individual entries via the admin and it listed the proper comments with each entry. Some parts of the MT admin saw the comments while other parts did not. I added a new comment and sure enough it appeared in the Comments section. I rebuilt a few select pages since I was hesitant to rebuild the entire site. The few pages I rebuilt still retained the old comments.
I did some searching and found a number of other people have run into the same issue, but there were no simple fixes posted. I opened a ticket with support. The options were to convert my database over to MySQL or to restore the original database files and run the upgrade again.
I started the MySQL conversion, but it turns out the version of MySQL on my hosting provider does not work with MT. I then restored my database files from backup and re-ran the upgrade. Just like the previous attempt it said all the database files were updated. When I logged back in the comments still were not there.
At this point the comment data is still in the database and when I rebuild pages it works, but no old comments are visible in the 'Comment' admin area. Any new comments added show up. Yes things are working but I feel a bit skeptical at this point.
Previous to the upgarde I was running MT-Blacklist and SpamLookup to handle any comment spam issues, but MT-Blacklist is no longer available as a plugin with 3.2. I wonder if this has contributed to the problem?
I've opened another ticket with support so we'll see what happens there.
Visitor Comments
Ooh, that's a headache Josh. The ease of my installation was in very large part due to the fact that my MT experimental blog is pretty new with few comments and trackbacks.
But if I had had a blog with substantial numbers of comments and trackbacks, I would still do the upgrade from 3.17, taking all the usual precautions first.
Interesting to note your database issues. MySQL is the better one to have with MT, as I read everywhere and is the Six Apart recommendation for MT 3.2.
I think this version is extremely good with an enormous range of new features and enhancements of old ones. It's a pity there are still some things that need ironing out and which would give some users some headaches, especially MT newbies like me. Nevertheless, definitely worth upgrading to.
As you know, I'm also experimenting with WordPress. I'm pretty close to making a decision on which platform will be the one for my long-term blog development, MT or WP. At the moment, it's looking like WP.
I think making direct comparisons between MT and WP is an apples-and-oranges comparison. Both have their strengths and weaknesses depending on what your blog objectives are, among many other things.
Good luck with completing your upgrade process!
Posted by: Neville Hobson | September 9, 2005 2:57 AM