Making a test system before ftp'ing edits?

[MikeInToshx]

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Hey guys,

How do I create a test system on my local machine, as my website/forum is right now?

do I need to copy the databases ect? I don't know how to start.

Thanks.

[.m.]

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if you are using windows environment then using XAMPP server would be easy.
install it, take backups of MyBB files and database and use them with XAMPP server

[MikeInToshx]

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I've been installing XAMPP, but I have no idea where to import my database in?
although I imported it in a lot of places ( lol ), still can't connect.

[.m.]

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^ run XAMPP server. start Apache , MySQL
visit localhost/phpmyadmin , click on databases tab and create a new database
click on that database at left side column, click on import tab (at right side) and import your MyBB database backup
copy MyBB forum files to xampp/htdocs/mybb
modify mybb/inc/config.php with localhost database details
& modify mybb/inc/settings.php with localhost forum url, cookie settings

you can visit your local mybb forum at localhost/mybb

[MikeInToshx]

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Thanks it worked

[MikeInToshx]

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hmm.. replaced my files , edited my database info again etc,.. but I cant seem to get past the login? Im using the correct password, because its not giving me an error. And if I do give a wrong password, it doesnt.

[Cameron:D]

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You'll need to change some settings.

Open inc/settings.php and find the settings related to your domain and change them to refer to localhost, then log in to the admin panel, go straight to the settings and update them all there too, so they are saved in the database (and settings file properly rebuilt).

The ones that need changing are:

$settings['bburl'] = "//localhost";
$settings['cookiedomain'] = ".localhost";
$settings['cookiepath'] = "/";

[MikeInToshx]

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Yes, I had these correct