drupal/UPGRADE.txt

// $Id$

UPGRADING
---------

1.  Backup your database and Drupal directory - especially your
    "sites" directory which contains your configuration file and
    added modules and themes, any contributed modules in your
    "modules" directory, and your "files" directory which contains
    uploaded files.

    Note: for a single site setup the configuration file is the
    "settings.php" file located at sites/default/settings.php.
    For multisite configuration the configuration file is located
    in a structure like the following:

      sites/default/settings.php
      sites/example.com/settings.php
      sites/sub.example.com/settings.php
      sites/sub.example.com.path/settings.php

    More information on multisite configuration is located in
    the INSTALL.txt file.

2.  Log on as the user with user ID 1.  User ID 1 is the first
    account created and the main administrator account.  User
    ID 1 needs to be logged in so that you can access update.php
    (step 10) which can only be run by user ID 1.  Do not close
    your browser until step 11 is complete.

3.  Place the site in "Off-line" mode, to mask any errors from
    site visitors.

4.  Disable contributed modules and switch to a core theme
    (Bluemarine or Garland).

5.  Remove all of the old files and directories from the Drupal
    installation directory.

6.  Unpack the new Drupal files and directories into the Drupal
    installation directory.

7.  Copy the backed up "files" and "sites" directories to the
    Drupal installation directory. If the original .htaccess or
    robots.txt files have been modified, copy the backed up
    versions of these files to the installation directory as
    well.

8.  Verify the new configuration file to make sure it has the
    latest and correct information.

9.  Re-install contributed modules.

    Note: make sure the version of a module matches your
    version of Drupal.  Modules from previous versions may
    not be compatible with the current version.  Check
    http://drupal.org/project/Modules for the version of a
    module to match your version of Drupal.

10. Run update.php by visiting http://www.example.com/update.php
    (replace www.example.com with your drupal installation's
    domain name and path).  This step will update the database to
    the new Drupal installation.

    Note: if you are unable to access update.php do the following:

      - Open your settings.php with a text editor.

      - There is a line that says $update_free_access = FALSE;.
        Change it to $update_free_access = TRUE;.

      - As soon as the update.php script is done, you must change
        the settings.php file back to its original form with
        $update_free_access = FALSE;.

11. Finally, return site to "Online" mode so your visitors may resume
    browsing.

For more information on upgrading visit the Drupal handbook at
http://drupal.org/upgrade