How To upgrade a Drupal website using Cpanel and Fantastico:

I just received an email from one of my web hosting companies telling me to go into my control panel and upgrade my software installations for be subject to immediate suspension of my website. This made me very nervous, because I knew Drupal had just upgraded and I had no clue how to do the upgrade without losing all my work.

After 3 hours of trying this and trying that. I only lost one of my web sites. Lost in a sense, I just have to go back and do a lot of cutting and pasting. The second site I did, it only took me 35 minutes. The third website only took 15 minutes, so if you follow these 16 steps, it should only take you 15 minutes to do the upgrade and have your website back up with all of it's original content.

1. First you need to go into your websites control panel:
   www.yourdomain.com/cpanel
2. In the Control Panel on the second row, Double click the "BACKUP" icon
3. On the left side you will see "Download a MySQL Database Backup", Double Click the "drpl1" database. A window will pop up and ask you to open or save this file. Click the "Save" and choose the destination. Be sure and write this destination down so you can find it easily later.
4. Once you have backed up your database, Go back to the main control panel by clicking "HOME in the upper right corner.
5. Find the "FANTASTICO" Icon. It usually the last icon at the bottom of the page. Double Click.
6. If you need to upgrade, there will be a message here. If there is a link to upgrade it is best to use it if not, continue.
7. Click "DRUPAL" under the Content Management Menu.
8. Where it says "Current Installation" Click on "Remove"
9. On the next screen you will see a warning telling you that the MySQL database and user will be deleted. Click "REMOVE DRUPAL".
10. The next window tells you that the database was successfully removed. Click on "BACK TO DRUPAL INSTALLATION OVERVIEW".
11. At the next window, click on "NEW INSTALLATION"
12. You will come to the first of three installation steps. Enter your information in the blocks as you prefer and click "INSTALL DRUPAL"
13. The next window will be "Install Drupal (2/3)". Here it will tell you that the MySQL database and MySQL user will be created and where the drupal will be installed. Click on "Finish installation to continue."
14. The next window will be "Install Drupal (3/3)" Here it will tell you that the files have been configured and your username and a password to enter the admin area. It will also tell you the full URL to the admin area. Before you click on "Back to Drupal Overview", be sure to scroll down and email yourself the details of the installation to a secure email address.
15. Now go back to the Control Panel Menu and click on "BACKUP" again.
16. On the right side you will see "Restore a MySQL Database". Click browse and find the folder you saved your "drpl1" database in step 3. Select this database by clicking the "OPEN" button. You then click "UPLOAD" This could take a few seconds depending on the size of your database, so be patient. When it is done a new window appears with an arrow pointing up that says "Restoring Database"

Congratulations! You have successfully upgraded your drupal website using Fantastico and Cpanel. I hope I have been of help.

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