Steps to upgrade from 3.9 to 4.60.5?

I've had a working site running for several years and it is currently on WinHost using 3.9. I set up a new website for a different business with the max hosting plan on SmarterASP.
I got a new site installed there for this move with 4.60.5 and now need to port the website to the new hosting server and shut down the old one. I have a week to do it. I copied all the files off the old host, but probably can't use them on the new one now. I will do a DB backup first, then run the upgrade SQL scripts, then back it up again, restore the original DB and download the upgraded one and upload it to the new host. I think the upgrade process for the DB has changed in the middle of these versions, and a new process is used. I also need my plugins to port over for USPS and BrainTree, etc.
Any thoughts on this, or a better plan?

RE: " do a DB backup first, then run the upgrade SQL scripts, then back it up again,"
It may not be a good idea to "run the upgrade SQL scripts" on the old DB at the old host.  Just leave it as is (so you have a system to compare to).   Restore the original backup to a new DB (on new SmarterAsp host), and then run the upgrade scripts there.  Then the first run of the new nopC will complete any migrations/upgrades from where scripts leave off.

I recommend that you first create a "new" nopCommerce install for latest version (4.60) and install to new DB and choose to "Create sample data".  (If using SmarterAsp, you can use their nopCommerce 1-click installer.)
Then test the new site.  After it looks good, you can then edit/adjust the DB connection string (in \App_Data\plugins.json) to point to the DB that you upgraded via scripts.

Do the 'create a "new" nopCommerce install / 1-click installer' before you restore your old DB to new host, so that you're sure to do the restore on the same DB server.


RE: " max hosting plan on SmarterASP."
I'm not aware of a "max' plan.  Check the SmarterASP plans.  If using shared hosting, then be sure to select the PREMIUM plan that has 3 GB of RAM.  If you are using their Semi-dedicated, then they all have at least 3 GB.

Yes, I have their best plan, just couldn't remember the name of it.
I tried doing a DB backup thru the website admin interface, and I get an error:

Cannot open backup device 'E:\web\xxxxxxxx\nopc\Administration\db_backups\database_2024-02-25-04-28-24_9943519547.bak because it cannot find the path.

I checked thru FTP and I do have this path:
ftp://[email protected]/xxxxxxxx/nopC/Administration/db_backups

Is there a way to make the E:\web\ a relative path?
Is the difference between \nopc\ and /nopC/ the problem?

Would changing the case for the nopC cause other problems?

I did backup the DB thru the WinHost interface and copied that down to my local PC, but not sure they are the same thing.

Thanks

RE: "I tried doing a DB backup thru the website admin interface,..."
"backup" in the old site?
Note, as per documentation:
"Database backup functionality only works when your nopCommerce application is deployed on the same server as the database. Otherwise, you will have to take care of the backup yourself (contact your system administrator)."

RE: "I did backup the DB thru the WinHost interface and copied that down to my local PC, but not sure they are the same thing."
Yes, it should be the SQL Server standard ".bak" file.