Quote Originally Posted by raycruzer View Post
I suppose I could point this install to my old database, but I wan't sure if my data from several years of activity would be safe. Yes, I did back it up.
So yes, things are in an odd condition now. To perform this testing that you seem to be trying (which is good to do such testing while the site is live though not on anything that would affect the live site).

So, if you are following this FAQ: http://www.zen-cart.com/entry.php?3-...d-of-upgrading

Then, at this point you really should be trying to install 1.5.5f to a new database that is to use the same DB_PREFIX as your live site and perhaps ideally with the demo product so that you can see what it would look like and walk yourself through the upgrade process of the software and what may be necessary from plugins and other modifications to make... this install would be a new install to the new database meaning as you step through the zc_install process the first time it would be to install the program to the new database not to do an upgrade of any previous/other database.

At the time it is desired to see the upgrade of the database occur, then you would be copying the database from your live site and replacing the database of this upgrade site... at which point you would upload and run zc_install again this time to upgrade the database...

What this means is that when looking at the includes/configure.php files of the live site and of this new upgrade site, the DB_PREFIX should be the same in both, but the database should be different even if the username/password are the same (or different)... the same difference should be seen between the live site's and the new site's admin/includes/configure.php. And when looking at the includes/configure.php and admin/includes/configure.php files of the new site, the db information should be the same in those two files.