Recommended Practices for Upgrading FIMS to the Latest Version

In order to successfully upgrade FIMS to the latest version, see the following checklist to review to ensure an error free upgrade.  

Answer:

1. Review the upgrade guide for the FIMS version you are installing

• Prior to performing the upgrade read the upgrade guide so that you are familiar with the process. 
• Make sure you have a current FIMS back up before proceeding.

2. Full Upgrades

a. Make sure that the FIMS shortcut on the server has the absolute path to the install directory, not UNC paths. The upgrade installer cannot work with UNC paths. 

• You may have a different drive other than C where FIMS is installed on the server.
• If you make a change in the ini file, or the shortcut on the server, you will need to launch FIMS and let the log in screen load so that the FIMS folder is set in the registry to use the new start in folder path and any other path changes that are made. You do not have to actually log into FIMS, the log in screen just needs to appear, you can click cancel after that.
• The full upgrade installer looks at the FIMSNT.ini file on the server thus the FIMS shortcut on the server needs to use that ini file. The FIMSNT.ini file would only be used on the server FIMS shortcut; it would never be used on a workstation FIMS shortcut.

     Correct FIMS Shortcut Configuration for the FIMS Database Server:

     Target:
     c:\NPO\dlc\bin\prowin32.exe -pf c:\npo\found\configfiles\wfound.pf -ini c:\npo\found\configfiles\fimsnt.ini
 
     Start in:
     c:\npo\found\fims 

b. Make sure that no users are logged into FIMS 

• On the database server, run the Show Live Users shortcut on the desktop to see how is logged in. Note that the DB Agent and the WDOG (WatchDog) are system services and can stay running so there is no need to log those off. 
• Instruct users to not attempt to log into FIMS until advised.
• It is best to un-share the shared NPO drive while you do the full upgrade on the server to ensure that no users log into FIMS during the process

 
 c. Make sure all shared files relevant to NPO are closed. 

• Go to Computer Management\Shared Folders\Open Files and make sure that any files in the NPO directory are not open. If they are open, close them. 
• It is best to un-share the shared NPO drive while you do the full upgrade. When you do this, shared files will be closed

 d. Right click and run FIMS as admin the first time after upgrade

• After a successful upgrade, make sure that the users right-click and run FIMS as administrator the first time they run FIMS after the upgrade if UAC is turned on on the workstations. If they cannot run as admin, then log in with a Windows account that has full rights and run FIMS for the first time.

 e. Make sure that both the FIMS version and the Database (DB) version are both the same; you can view that information in Help\About FIMS. If they are not both the same then that means that the upgrade did not take place correctly.

 f. Review the upgrade log in \npo\found\FIMS called fims-upgrades-year.log where year would be the year you ran the upgrade an review that to make sure there were no issues with the upgrade and that all steps completed. At the very bottom of the log, it should read the following, ""tools\upfims.p - UPFIMS.P completed - date and time".

g. Review the FIMS compile log to make sure there were no compile errors located in \npo\found\FIMS called 'FCOMPILE.ERR'.

h. Re-commit fieldmaker after the ugprade
i. Note any errors that occur during the process and contact support for assistance.

3. Patch upgrades

a. Many times you will have to right click and run FIMS as administrator to run the patch.

b. Right click and run FIMS as admin the first time after upgrade 

• After a successful upgrade, make sure that the users right-click and run FIMS as administrator the first time they run FIMS after the upgrade if UAC is turned on on the workstations. If they cannot run as admin, then log in with a Windows account that has full rights and run FiMS for the first time.

c. Make sure that both the FIMS version and the Database (DB) version are both the same; you can view that information in Help\About FIMS. If they are not both the same then that means that the upgrade did not take place correctly.

d. Review the upgrade log in \npo\found\FIMS called fims-upgrades-year.log where year would be the year you ran the upgrade an review that to make sure there were no issues with the upgrade and that all steps completed. At the very bottom of the log, it should read the following, ""tools\upfims.p - UPFIMS.P completed - date and time".

e. Review the FIMS compile log to make sure there were no compile errors located in \npo\found\FIMS called 'FCOMPILE.ERR'.

f. Re-commit fieldmaker after the ugprade
g. Note any errors that occur during the process and contact support for assistance.