Upgrade problem: Object reference not set to an instance of object

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Ben Tiedt replied on Thu, Apr 17 2008 10:50 AM

dotnetdude:

3) Are you joking - you jump first ;-) (and im glad as the upgrade hasnt worked under test conditions)

From the UpgradeNotes.txt file...

UPGRADE WALKTHROUGH
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Below is a small overview of the upgrade process.

1.  Create a backup of your database.

2.  Create a backup of all web files.

3.  Download Community Server 2008.

4.  Copy all web files for Community Server 2008 into the location of your current
    version of Community Server. This must occur before you run the upgrade tool.

5.  Verify your connection string to the database is correct. This will be located in
    either the web.config file or connectionStrings.config file.

6.  Unzip the upgrade tool to a location of your choosing. In it you will find a large
    number of files. The only thing you're concerned about is the upgrade tool itself,
    named CommunityServer.Upgrader.exe. Please leave all other files as-is.

7.  Double-click CommunityServer.Upgrader.exe to open the upgrade tool.

8.  The welcome screen asks you for the location of your current version of Community
    Server. Enter it or browse to it and click Next.

9.  At the next screen, verify the information presented is correct. If anything is
    incorrect, make the necessary changes and click Next.

10. If there are any conflicts between your file and photo galleries, you'll see a
    screen warning you of those conflicts. At this point you can cancel the upgrade
    to address the conflicts or continue on.
   
11. At the next screen, verify the correct site is being upgraded and click Upgrade.

12. Once the upgrade is complete, verify that the Community Server web folder contains
    the filestorage folder and all related contents. If it does not, copy the filestorage
    folder from the location of the upgrade tool to the web folder.

13. Grant the filestorage folder in your Community Server directory Network Service
    rights.

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dotnetdude replied on Thu, Apr 17 2008 10:59 AM

OMG - I can't believe we missed that one - SO SORRY! Embarrassed

For almost the first time ever we actually read the upgrade notes but seemingly missed that (understandably) critical step!

Will do as documented and try again!

By the way it's a shame the install has to still be called 2007 (I know we can change it later but it's a shame the upgrade doesnt do it automatically).

Thanks for now.

James.

 

 

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Ben Tiedt replied on Thu, Apr 17 2008 11:05 AM

dotnetdude:
OMG - I can't believe we missed that one - SO SORRY!
 

No problem.  I hope the upgrade goes more smoothly now.

dotnetdude:
By the way it's a shame the install has to still be called 2007

Where are the references to 2007?

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Jasscat replied on Thu, Apr 17 2008 11:05 AM

Ben, I get 0 as well.

And, if I haven't mentioned it before ... love the  "Snorky" avatar.

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Jasscat replied on Thu, Apr 17 2008 11:11 AM

Hey Ben, I'm guilty of something even more boneheaded.  I thought I copied in the files from the updater, but I put them in a different location then the one I was trying to update.  Had to verify that I was going after the original file.

I'll try the copy again.  Thanks.

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dotnetdude replied on Thu, Apr 17 2008 11:12 AM

Ben Tiedt:

Where are the references to 2007?

Folder structure eg. C:\Program Files\Telligent\Community Server 2007

 

 

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dotnetdude replied on Thu, Apr 17 2008 11:13 AM

Jasscat:

Hey Ben, I'm guilty of something even more boneheaded.  I thought I copied in the files from the updater, but I put them in a different location then the one I was trying to update.  Had to verify that I was going after the original file.

I'll try the copy again.  Thanks.

 

My goodness, what do we look like - I know if I was one of my users I would be looking upwards and shaking my head at us idiots - LMAO

 

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Ben Tiedt replied on Thu, Apr 17 2008 11:22 AM

dotnetdude:

Ben Tiedt:

Where are the references to 2007?

Folder structure eg. C:\Program Files\Telligent\Community Server 2007

Oh, the installation path.  Yes, is not handled by the upgrade tool, but could be modified after the upgrade is complete by renaming the folder and updating IIS.

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Jasscat replied on Thu, Apr 17 2008 11:49 AM

Whew.  Copied in the correct files to the correct folder and got the upgrade to work!!!  Yeah!!

Two points, Ben.  Shouldn't step #6 of the upgrade notes precede step #4?  That is to say, the web files should be extracted before copying the files to the current version of Community Server. 

Second, you may need to make clear that you can't just copy the web folder from the upgrade folder and replace your web folder in the current installation.  One needs to copy all the files within the web folder in the upgrade and replace the corresponding files in the original version.  Things like the connection string config that aren't in the web upgrade folder need to remain in the original.

Thanks for all your help.  I agree with dotnetdude in his/her Thu, Apr 17 2008 10:13 AM post.   I need more coffee before I attempt another upgrade.

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 I'm running into exactly problem.  Therefire i'm using cs2008 final with license.  My upgrade was going smoothly.  only one bug that i got from viewing forum with Hawaii theme.  I have tested on localhost everything are working well; when i roll to production that bug is bugging me.  Now we can't use Hawaii theme.  I have send Ben and email hopefully, he can use his miracle to help us..  Thank you

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Hey,

I came across this issue when upgrading my site to 2008; I thought others here might want to run this sql statement I created to delete all cs_PostAttachments where the SectionID and ApplicationType is NULL. I also had it check to make sure that the post doesn't exist in the cs_sections table.

DELETE cs_PostAttachments FROM cs_PostAttachments LEFT JOIN cs_Sections on cs_Sections.SectionID = cs_PostAttachments.SectionID where cs_PostAttachments.Content not like 0x and cs_Sections.SectionID is NULL and cs_Sections.ApplicationType is null


-Blake Niemyjski

 

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It looks like this is something that needs added to the upgrade tool. I've logged the issue.

 

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mddubs replied on Mon, May 19 2008 4:26 PM

I'm getting this error too, and a count of 0.   Is there a solution?

Matt Williamson Bunker Hollow
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Other people have reported that by re-copying over the CS 2008 web files and re-running the upgrade this problem goes away. Is that something you can try?

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Sunwolf replied on Sun, May 25 2008 11:47 AM

Bump:

Jasscat had the best explaination so far on how to get this upgrade working. Thanks Jass.

Ben - I would like to suggest that Step 4 be edited to have more specific, descriptive text to make it clearer.

"4. Copy the files contained in the Web folder to the folder to your local drive so they override your Community Server 2007 files."

Maybe add "copy only the files in the Web folder from the Upgrade Package, and then paste them to over-write the files in your existing Web folder. DO NOT copy the Web folder itself from the Upgrade Package and over-write the existing Web folder; you will lose configuration information."

*shrug* Dunno - maybe I'm less technical than I thought I was hehe.

Anyway - great product; thank you for providing a 99% painless upgrade pacakge. My daughter's website continues to impress family and friends that visit.

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