IMPORTANT UPGRADE NOTICE: Discus 4.1 can accept upgrades from versions 4.00 or 3.10 of Discus/Discus Professional only. If you are currently running an older version (3.01 or before), you must first upgrade to version 3.10 BEFORE you upgrade to version 4.1.

These installation instructions apply to Discus and Discus Professional 4.1 and higher. These apply to an upgrade (where you upgrade your existing Discus or Discus Professional board to the latest available version).

1. Download the appropriate Discus tar gzipped file, discus4_10_xxx.tar.gz, from the DiscusWare web site (note that the xxx in the file name represents the specific patch number and international version, as appropriate). Using your choice of FTP, secure file copy, or any other suitable method, transfer this file to any directory on your Unix web server (FTP transfers to be completed using binary mode). In a telnet or SSH session on your server, change to the directory where you uploaded this file.

2. Unzip and extract the tar archive. This will create a subdirectory called discus4_10_xxx with the installation files. Note that you must substitute the actual name of the file you downloaded into these instructions!

   tar -xzvf discus4_10_xxx.tar.gz

   Certain systems do not support the above command. If you receive an error message, try the following command instead:

   gzip -dc discus4_10_xxx.tar.gz | tar -xvf -

3. Use Perl to run the upgrade script in the UNIX shell.

   cd discus4_10_xxx
perl upgrade.pl

   You will be prompted to supply the discus.conf file from your existing board. The easiest way to do this is to type in the full path to your discus.conf file after selecting option 1. If you select options 2 or 3, follow on-screen instructions to locate and use your discus.conf file.

   If this is the first time you are upgrading to Discus Professional 4.0, you will be prompted to enter your license number. Enter your license number as it appears in the e-mail confirmation message. It is important to enter your license number properly, as the software will remember your license number and use it for you automatically when you perform future upgrades.

   You can choose either a full upgrade (1) or a custom upgrade (2). If you have customized templates, skins, or configuration files, you should use a custom upgrade to preserve your changes. Please note that only a full upgrade is supported by DiscusWare.

   When asked to confirm your upgrade, make sure that the URL to your board is correct (i.e., make sure you are using the right discus.conf file). Then, answer yes to upgrade the program files.

4. Log into the administration program as the board administrator (username "admin" in most cases). If this is the first time you are upgrading to version 4.1, and you were running version 3.10, you will be prompted to click the upgrade link. This will convert your user and message databases into version 4.1 format.