How to install DotNetNuke so I can migrate existing users?

Question

I'm doing a fresh install of DNN 6.0.

I have an existing 4.x site with thousands of users, and my goal is to copy the users from the old database to the new one with some SQL queries. Of course the two sites must have the same machineKey.

I thought I had to set the machineKey value before running the installer, but then installation process overwrites it.

If I change the machineKey after running the installer, I can't access the host login created during the install process.

What am I missing?

I'm willing to use a third-party migration tool, but note that I'm not moving users between portals, I'm moving them between websites.

If it matters, I'm using SQL Server on Windows 2003.

Answer 1

We imported about 30k users from a different CMS using our own code in conjunction with the DotNetNuke API. This took a lot of time and resulted in password resets for all users. Due to the time involved and the fact that we had to implement a friendly "Oh by the way, welcome to the new site, but you need to change your password now" feature,

I'd recommend the following:

I believe this module from DataSprings allows you to bring over users with passwords intact from another DotNetNuke instance. It is also DNN 6 compatible.

Mitchel Sellers made this very recommendation here, and I trust Mitchel when it comes to DNN.

Answer 2

An easy solution to the host login is to complete the install, and set the machine key to match your old system. Then copy the password, and passwordsalt values from a known user in your old db to your host user in your new db. You can then login with the known password.