Build a Joomla Website Forum

Hello,

I'm assuming you've already been through these lessons?
http://www.buildajoomlawebsite.com/joomla-pro/local-installation

More info on your situation would be great.

How are you taking a copy? Akeeba?

How are you moving the site, and where are you moving it (what environment)?

How is it not working? Can't get past installation, can't get site to come up after installation?

Let us know what's happening, and we'll try to help.

Hello


I am actually a beginner and yes I know these tutorials, I know how to install WAMP and get my offline Joomla website created etc .. the way I am copying the site with is simply taking a copy of the website folder from the www folder in WAMP and pasting it to the other computer's www folder ... Is this wrong ?? .... my environment is Windows 7 and so too is the other computers' environments to which I try to copy the websites to ... when I try to take the copy and run it on the WAMP server on the other computer it gives me an error message and the site refuses to open; I am going to try it again and take a snapshot from the error message as well for further illustration ....I hope this helped to explain my problem more better :-)

Are you trying to administer your site through another WAMP setup?

Do you have a DB set up through phpMyAdmin on your alternate computer?

My understanding (limited - although I too am presently working off a localhost setup) is that the DB has to be set up first... else there is really nowhere for your files to be accessed from...

I'm afraid you can't do what you are trying to do. As you've discovered - it doesn't work.

What WILL work is to take an Akeeba backup of your site, download it to a known location on your local machine. I generally do this as a zip rather than jpa.

Setup a folder in the www directory of your other machine's WAMP named for your website and open it. Copy across the Akeeba zip file to your other machine, unzip it and then copy ALL the files to the open folder.

Then go to your browser and look up localhost/folder name and the Akeeba installer will start (it's very similar to the normal Joomla install). See the Akeeba documentation here - https://www.akeebabackup.com/documentation.html

Ian

So the combination of Dan's and Ian's responses is exactly what you're looking for here.

Once you have the database and database user set up on your TARGET location (where you're moving to), you can take your Akeeba backup and follow Ian's advice of how to install it.

Make sure you read through the Akeeba documentation so you get it into your head for yourself too.

Once you've done it about 350 times, you can do it in your sleep. :-)

Kidding of course...the process is actually very straightforward once you've done it a couple of times.

Good luck.

Okay I have to throw this one into the mix here.

I have been pondering to try this.

What if you have an external harddrive, and you intsall WAMP on that?
Now you create your websites locally on this external drive.

Can I now just take this external drive and plug and play into a different PC/laptop etc crank up WAMP and have my website work?

hmmm

Just a thought

only problem I see with that is that each program has a set of system preferences that are stored on the specific computer the program (ie WAMP) is installed on... so even if you took your external drive with you there is a good chance the essential sysprefs would not be available to run your site properly...

The only way you can just move installations about from machine to machine is by using a virtual server. Then you move the whole virtual machine to the new location.

You need to look into how that runs, there's VM software out there but not sure if it is made for Linux, which most of us run.

Its also not cheap.

I suspect seeing a demo using VM software is probably what gave you the idea. No programme (except for very simple one) can be moved to any machine, a PC or server, without an installation process of some sort.

good point Margot... in fact years ago at work I used to have a backup drive with a complete operating system on it that I could use to resurrect an ailing machine...

but I had to be able to boot from that emergency hard-drive... is that possible in the PC environment as well? I know it can work in a Mac enviro

Not sure exactly how that works but what you describe involves software that creates an image of your pc as it is so that when you mess up your installation you can restore it but its specific to your pc.

MS operating systems have that too, when I got my latest PCs I was asked to create a recovery disk. Have never had to implement that so know nothing about it.

Big IT companies often programe installation packages to the companies specific configuration to make installation of new PCs quick and uniform.

Its only worth it though if you have a lot of employees.

I did work a bit with virtual servers around 5 years ago because we were looking at a quick and easy way to deploy demo versions of a programme that was a nightmare to install.

Actually when you work with XAMP you are really running a simplified version of VM software as well - a viewer if I remember right.

was just thinking... if its portability of the site that he is looking at I would think that beyond just using the hosted version the easiest way to work on the site and perhaps the least expensive and least nuisance in the long run is to purchase a reasonable portable and run it off of that... I know which portable I would suggest but I would assume there are some usable ones in the PC market as well!

By far the simplest solution here is to just get the cheapest good hosting account possible and use that as a dev server. You can access it anywhere, and it will work just like in the real world...because it's in the real world already.

You can even get an Amazon virtual server for free for one year (or for under one dollar US per month anyway).

The only consideration would be if there is a need to view and develop where there is no internet connection.

Occam's razor...this seems like the "simplest" solution to me.

I agree, with Joomla I see no reason to run the develop/test/deploy on a separte environment thing. Its not code so does not need versioning appart from its own instance, and that you can manage with backing up prior to major changes. Code is not a running application so should be managed away from the production environment, but Joomla is already a running application and can be switched to production mode with the flick of a radio button.

Just keep the site offline until you are ready to show it to the world.

Well I tried it.
I have an external 1TB drive so I installed WAMP on it, and it broke everything for me lol
I removed it from my external drive and had to uninstall it from my PC and reinstall it . now everything is working again for my localhost as before.

I guess I would go for a nice laptop to use for localhost development machine, then you could just take it anywhere to show clients, or work in different locations.

Hi ghanlon... I really think you need to run WAMO or MAMP in my case off a drive that has a bootable system on it... that's probably why it broke for you... not on a bootable external drive... while my site is now administered online, I still also have a working copy on my home standalone where I can try things out before maybe messing up my real site... if I were to have a portable running this though it would help too.... some day!

I have yet to practice using a local host however I'm fairly sure I saw a version of Xammp for use on memory sticks etc.

As I haven't tried it I can't say if it would work for you but maybe worth looking at.

Andy.

But you can also get a mobile internet connection and access the site from you portable pc (or mac - which is not reasonably priced Dan B) )

Further, you have the joy of being connected to the internet away from home for browsing and email.

Only if you are going into remote areas would this fail you. And why would you go bush to show off your site?

I think XAMP on a stick would work if you had the VM viewer installed on your PC.

Whenever I visit clients, I take my laptop and trusty dongle!

As I develop sites locally before uploading to a server, I always have several available for demo purposes via WAMP. Which is not a bad idea in the backwoods where I live. Mobile access is often limited, as is broadband speed, so I tend to be as self sufficient as I can.

Which prompts me to pose Dan a question. I know I started teasing you about Macs a while back (just for the fun of it!) - but I was mooching round the sales counters this week, looking for a new laptop. Even here in France, I'm amazed that for around 300€ I can get 6 GB of RAM and a 500 GB hard drive. I nearly fell over when I saw an equivalent Mac priced at nearly 1800€. It was like going back in time 5 years.

So - Dan - I know they're lovely, never ever go wrong and that Jonathon Ive their (British) head of design has just had Her Madge slap him round the shoulders with the best that Wilkinson sword can produce and beg him to 'arise Sir Jonathon' - but!!! - how could I justify paying nearly 6 times as much to my Chief Financial Officer (otherwise known as Mrs Hayward)?

And even if she did OK the expenditure, I'd find it hard not to stick with PC - and add a Samsung Galaxy AND a 64 GB Asus Eee Pad Transformer to my list - and still have change for a 24" monitor and a slap up dinner for the CFO.

I'm struggling here!

Ian

PS - just a bit of fun Dan. Your site looks great by the way - and we get a better look at that hole!

Hi Ian

Holy %^&*... that better be some souped up Mac they were offering for that price... A Mac book Air here is less than $1K and a 13" Macbook Pro is $1.2K... sure I could top it up to the17" model and start to hit the prices you saw... but the point is I don't need that machine unless I were heavy into either movie making, 3D rendering or performance gaming...

the resolution on any version of macbook far outweighs the resolution on most PC laptops... My two sons have laptops, the choice of which is left to them... both have built their own PC towers for high end gaming... as far as portability though my one son who is a 3d animator chose the Mac, while my programming, gamer son chose a PC... I can sit at almost any angle and view what my "3D" son is viewing while I almost have to be head on with my "gamer's" unit... if I were showing something to a client I'd want to be awfully sure that he or I weren't having to look directly over one another's shoulders to view what I wanted to show them.

I know price is always an issue but to me I don't think it's always fair to compare a low priced PC against a higher quality Mac. Specs are one thing... but quality and performance are another.

Having said that both my iPad and iPhone show my site quite nicely. BTW... I was interested to see that the template I am using for my own site actually has a built in module for mobile... found this out by chance when I showed the site to someone on my iPhone... which also has extremely good resolution!

I now golf at another course which also has some beautiful holes, but I still love the 11th at Black Diamond which I use for both my avatar and on my site. Even in the slightly stretched version on the slideshow I think it still sets up well!

Hi Dan

Holy snapping duck%#ç@ is about right. We get robbed this side of the Atlantic. Here's a link to Apple UK http://tinyurl.com/6kbaxr - a 15" Macbook Pro 4GB/500GB starts at around $CND 2,500!!! Yep, nifty processor but....! (Airbooks start at around $CND 1350 by the way)

A Toshiba on the other hand (who are pretty good at nailing stuff together), from our friends at PC World (http://tinyurl.com/crfj8u7) for a 15.6" 6GB/640GB will set you back around $CND565. That's a hell of a difference!

I'm a buy it and use it 'til it falls apart man and I have a Dell in my study that I use (and have used) daily that I bought new in 2005/6 (the memory starts to go!). It's a road warrior no longer (too heavy!) but in 6 years all I've had to replace is one battery, which is a pretty good track record.

We can argue spec 'til the cows come home and Apple are great - you won't get an argument from me there. I'm even prepared to say they are better - but at what price? I could have my clients watching one each at these differentials!

You should get some more golf shots on your site - I spent some very happy years with Toro Irrigation UK so I've seen some very pretty golf courses and Black Diamond is up there!

We were always more expensive than our competition incidentally - that quality premium! - but only by 25% - 30%.

Keep it on the fairway!

Ian

I know shipping costs are high these days as most of out product comes from the UK... but wow is that ever a hosing you're taking on Mac products... I haven't seen pricing like that for many many years over here... all I can say is sorry!

the difference in comparable machines over here is probably only a couple of hundred bucks and certainly something that would create at least a bit of comparison shopping... must be tough not having a choice over there though!

at some point I will have a few links to some golf photo galleries... I love golf calendars and such... but prefer taking my own shots... usually with trees and things in the foreground... which is exactly the way I play golf sometimes!

In 1974 we installed a Toro irrigation system at our Lawn Bowling green here in Cobourg... as far as I know it is still functional today with only some minor repair work done on it... just goes to show you get what you pay for... I also have a 1981 Apple II+ here that still functions, although I haven't used it for years... can't say that about many computers from that era!

Fairways? what are those?

Ah yes - shipping costs. I've got a feeling both are manufactured in China these days - as it seems is everything else. Who's on the slow boat!! It's incredible really that Apple does that well here given the crazy prices.

I'd forgotten you were bowlers in Canada. We used to work with Willy Wood and David Bryant back in the day. Great guys. The europeans used to get a real kick out of bowls as it was new to most of them! I've still got some old Toro stock irrigating our veg garden!

Nothing like your own photos - keep snapping.

Ian

Wow... Small world... In 1984 I played in my first international... The Gateway Building Society Invitational World Singles event in Worthing... I beat Willlie Wood 21-20 in a BBC televised game then lost to David Bryant in a close match in the semis before besting George Souza from Hong Kong for the Bronze Medal... David and Willie were both at the top of their games back then and I was honored to have been able to compete in their company!

That's some pretty elevated company Dan! For those of you who are non bowls players - and I guess that's a lot of you - have a look at David Bryant's career medals here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bryant

What's your golf handicap by the way?

Ian

Been as low as a 5 when I'm healthy (two years ago), but probably playing off a 7 or 8 right now... Have had some separated rib problems that just won't go away (over last 10 years I think I've kept the local chiropractors in business)... And elbows... And back ... And hip... Mosty old fart stuff getting in the way of a decent swing... I still have fun every time out though... Usually play with a good group of gofers whose HC's range from a 5 to a 35 now