D4.6.8 to D6.10: Clean up your dev site

This part of the process requires you come to the realization that many, if not all, third-party modules that you used to create your site are not available for D6.10 because the developer stopped working on it OR it got integrated into D6. It is also the time to clean up. The objective for this process is to convert your site into a D4.6.8 default site. Below are the steps I did to clean up my site for the transition from D4.6.8 to D6.10.

Site Data

Nodes: Go through all your nodes and delete all the nodes you don't need to keep. I had nodes from the events module that weren't needed anymore, so I dumped them.

Content types: I had two types of content that were obsolete going forward: events created with flexinode and disknodes. The events I could loose but the disknodes I couldn't. When I get to D6, I will have to find a way to address the nodes that were once disknodes. I will start with using the core upload module as a replacement to starters.

Site Structure

Theme: Revert to the default Bluemarine theme.

Third-party Modules: If you are using third-party modules to create the layout of your site, it is time to turn those off. Face the fact that your site will not be able to look exactly like it did before without some work. I was using the Views and Front modules to create my homepage. I did not delete the view (as of this moment, I haven't looked to see if my old views still work in Views2).

Menus and Blocks: Many of my menus and blocks were created using third-party modules. I simply turned them off. I took it down to the default navigation and site home link to get around. For example, I was using the Article module for my "Articles" link in the primary area. I checked and a D6 version of Article module is not ready (as of today) so this goes away.

Modules

By this time, maybe you have disengaged several modules just with the clean up process. I went through my modules and not only turned off all third-party modules but also the core modules I didn't need. Remember, modules take up php memory. While transitioning, it is best to be as streamline as possible so you don't get the white screen of death (which by the way did happen when reinstalling my updated third-party modules).

Once you have turned them off, go ahead and delete them from your server (FTP or control panel will be your tool at this point). Remember, no third-party module created for D4.6.8 will work in D6 so just give it up. CAUTION: Make sure you are logged into the dev site directory on the server. You don't want to delete the wrong set of modules.

Another reason for the deletion process is, newer versions of Drupal want you to put your third-party modules in the site directory. So, the only modules you should have left showing in your admin>modules are the following: