Error when Importing Character from Old to New Version using CharImport

[atzman]

Hello and good day.

I used v.6 years ago, and I wanted to upgrade to the current free version, which is v.7. I have created the template file (.ciu) using CharImport for the characters and accounts I wanted to transfer. After that, I upgraded the repack. The way I did it was : I downloaded the Database (mysql) and Repack (server), then Copy and Replaced everything to the respective folders. However, when I tried to transfer the accounts/characters using CharImport, I was unable to do it. It showed the character overview (albeit it has "Error loading itemname), but when I tried to choose "Transfer", and fill in the following

Database address : localhost
Port : 3306
User-Id : root
Password : ascent

Realm/Auth database name : auth
Character database name : characters

and click the "Connect", it showed an error message which reads "The database could not be associated with an emulation. Please check your specification!".
Is there something I did wrong? Any kind of help would be appreciated.

Cheers

 

[Tasoulios]

I don't know if this will help you but i also had issues with charimport.

I wanted to transfer from version v9.1 to version v10 or v10.1. In the end i didn't use this method. Instead, i just used Heidisql and imported the "char" and "auth" databases from v9.1 into version v10.1. Then i deleted the ones v10.1 had and renamed the ones i imported with the names v10.1 had. I did some small corrections in the auth database so that it shows "v10.1" instead of "v9.1" when you choose realms (it's not important, i just like everything to look correct) and everything went smoothly. All my characters and the guild i made got transferred into the v10.1 world without a single bug.

I don't know if this is possible from v6 to v7 though. If there are major changes in the char and auth databases between the two, maybe it won't work. It does work from 9 to 10 because there aren't any changes. Though, there was a small change to v10.1 but that was easily fixed by executing one single command in the world database, posted somewhere in this forum.

 

[atzman]

Thank you for your reply.

I have just tried to use Heidisql, but it didn't work (chances are, I did something wrong there). I managed to create the Session, and bunch of stuffs appear in the left side. I exported the settings of "auth", "characters", and "emucoachworld" into .txt file, then imported them into "emucoach-auth", "emucoach-characters", and "emucoach-world", but when I tried to run the worldserver.exe, it immediately closed itself. Also, before that attempt, I only exported/imported the auth and char only, and it does nothing. I still couldn't get my characters/account.

 

[atzman]

after a while of doing trials and errors, i found the solutions. In the CharImport menu, I had to fill in

Realm/Auth database name : emucoach-auth
Character database name : emucoach-char

which, I would have never guessed if I hadn't tried Heidisql. That's because when I opened Heidisql, they were named emucoach-auth/emucoach-char, eventhough the folder name was emucoach@002dauth/emucoach@002char. I also googled up and found that @002 translates to "-" apparently. Some of the minor settings such as macros etc are reset, especially for admin account, where most of the user settings are reset, but I managed to get my old characters.

Thanks a lot for telling me about the Heidisql, Tasoulios

 

[Tasoulios]

I'm glad it worked out for you in the end. I assumed you knew how to use Heidisql so i didn't offer a detailed solution, just the general idea.

So, in case anyone is interested, that's how to use Heidisql to import your characters in a newer version.


- first you open the old server (just the MySQL server, you don't need to run anything from the "release" folder").

- Use Heidisql (install a recent version, older versions will probably give errors) and browse the server with it.

- There are 3 main databases, "char", "auth" and "world". The names can be different, like "emucoach_v6_char" or whatever, but they always contain these words.

- You only care for "auth" and "char". These contain your old characters and info. "World" is not needed.

- Right click on "auth" database and select "export database as SQL". A small window will appear. Make sure you have those same settings:

- Do the same for "char"

- You will end up with two .sql files (not txt)

- Close the server and open the new one that you want your characters in.

- Check the names of the "auth" and "char" databases. Write them down somewhere. Once you do, delete them both. DO NOT touch the "world" database.

- Now make sure you have selected the main folder on the top left (in my case it's called "WoW") and not a database folder. Then go to "file" and select "Run SQL file".

- Select each of your SQL files that you exported previously. The old "auth" and "char" databases should now be imported.

- Rename these databases with the title the original databases had (that you deleted).


All this should be enough for your new server to work with your old characters. If you are importing into v10.1, you also need to execute this one line in the "auth" database:

ALTER TABLE `account` ADD COLUMN `token_key` varchar(100) NOT NULL DEFAULT '' AFTER `s`;

That's should be it. At least that's how i did it with mine and it works smoothly. All that's left to do (that's optional) is go to the "auth" database and correct some things like in the "realmlist" sub-table, it will still say the version of the old server so you can change that to whatever you want.


Now, in order for this to work, the old and new servers need to be "compatible", that means, no major changes in the "auth" and "char" databases between them. I know 8, 9 and 10 versions are compatible. I have no idea if 6 is compatible with 7 and so on.

 

[HenryVub]

hi all. you see, a year ago my computer crashed with vs on it and i got a new computer but i want it back without having to buy it again and with my own key i got with my old vs. is that ok? yay, nay?
please respond asap
thanks, ben

 

[ravish123]

hi all. you see, a year ago my computer crashed with vs on it and i got a new computer but i want it back without having to buy it again and with my own key i got with my old vs. is that ok? yay, nay?
please respond asap
thanks, ben

Are you talking about Visual Studio? If so the community version is free

 

[Aescleal]

This looks great! Mine breaks because I need to go from v7 to v10. I'm running both servers right now, v7 as a family playground, and v10 as a solo tester. Do you know what tables need to be added/changed/removed in either auth or char? I'd love to just pick through them and make those mods after importing the v7 auth & char databases. Maybe it's way more complicated than all that?
As it is now it just crumbles when you launch worldserver.exe. Hehe! But really, I was expecting it to fail.. but I had to try anyways to see for myself! Know what I mean?

Aescleal

I've been playing with HeidiSQL and SQLyog and may have either figured out or messed up (it could go either way) my v10 database. This has moved my characters from v7 db to the v10 db.

I was inspired by [MENTION=24118]Tasoulios[/MENTION] post above.

I used the Copy Database feature in SQLyog, and merged the old and new Auth and Char db's.

I'll post a how-to later, but worldserver has been up and running for 8 hours now and all data seems to have been carried over with no errors. I have inventories, banks, quests, guilds, money, pets, mounts, skills, professions, etc.

If there's a reason this could horribly break in the near future, can somebody in the know say-so? I'll put together a how-to of what I did soon.

Aescleal.

- Check the names of the "auth" and "char" databases. Write them down somewhere. Once you do, delete them both. DO NOT touch the "world" database.

This is where I stopped. I didn't delete the imported "auth" and "char" databases. Instead...

I used SQLyog and did a "Copy Database To Different Host/Database". This is found in the Database menu.



Notice the selection: "Drop if exists in target"

Nearly 9 hours uptime including a few hours of playtime.

I copied data from both "Auth" and "Char" into the v10 vip auth and char databases and then dropped the v7 emucoach-auth & -char copies. Worked like a charm.

Oh, FYI, I also resumed, as above, and added: ALTER TABLE `account` ADD COLUMN `token_key` varchar(100) NOT NULL DEFAULT '' AFTER `s`;
As well as modified the realmlist to reflect the updated version!

So my questions is, will this cause issues going forward for upgrades? Can I get some input on this?

Thanks,
Aescleal

 

[Tasoulios]

So my questions is, will this cause issues going forward for upgrades? Can I get some input on this?

If you have no issues now i don't see how this will affect future upgrades. Your data is now proper v.10 basically, otherwise it wouldn't work i assume.

 

[Aescleal]

If you have no issues now i don't see how this will affect future upgrades. Your data is now proper v.10 basically, otherwise it wouldn't work i assume.

Seems to be working well so far. And I'd agree with you except my thought was that why were the databases changed in v10 in the first place, and will I notice later when I want to do a simple upgrade from v10 to v10.1 (or .2, .3, etc.)? If I were to use the CharImport Tool at a later date, would it get completely wrecked by table data not being what is expected for the version...

As I said, I'm very NOT knowledgeable about such things, just curious enough to break stuff!!!

I'm probably over thinking all of it.

Thanks [MENTION=24118]Tasoulios[/MENTION]

Aescleal

**********

 

[Tasoulios]

Personally, i didn't have the smoothest experience with CharImport either way. There were some errors and funny stuff, long before i used my method thus i'm not using it. So i can't comment on it.

Are you at version 10.0 now? You should go to 10.1, it fixes ALOT of 10.0 regressions that worked in 9.1.

As for future upgrades, i assume that if you transfer your characters every single new version you should be fine because you go "step by step". Any small changes between the tables will be fixed by executing a command or two. However, holding the upgrade and waiting for, say, 3 or 4 versions creating a "gap" between the versions you want to do a transfer with is more risky because any small changes between versions get accumulated.

Or at least that's my take, i'm not exactly an expert either Just testing and using what works for me.

 

[HBellz]

heyo people of the knowledge wondering if this will work to port our characters to the MOP repack?