Updating/Installing phpBB MODs

Updating phpBB MODs can be a pain, but advancements in the phpBB code base and AutoMOD (which I highly recommend not touching until it is stable) will make it easier in due time.

It is very easy to to learn how to upgrade or install a phpBB MOD. After finding the MOD information page and downloading the compressed file, you can look at this page which will explain pretty much everything needed for installing or upgrading a MOD.

For more information on FTP, check here.

Backing Up
But before you install any MODs, I highly recommend that you back up all files on the server. Plus it is good practice.
 * Backing up all forum files. This means FTP'ing into the site, and downloading the forums/ directory to your computer. All of it, nothing more, nothing less.
 * Backing up the SQL files. This can be done easily and backups all the data in the forum; without this it is useless.
 * From the cPanel page, scroll down the "Database" section and click on "phpMyAdmin"
 * On the lefthand navbar, select "_phpBB3" (as of January 2010)
 * In the right hand main frame, click on the "Export" tab.
 * Note: There is also a "SQL" tab which is used for executing mySQL/database queries which may be need by some MODs.
 * The default settings work fine. Make sure you select all the tables (just press "Select All").
 * At the bottom, check "Save as File" and select "Zipped" as the method of compression.
 * Press "Go" and save the file to a safe location.

If all goes well, phpBB will work fine and not blow up. If it does throw a error back at you (which will either be just a blank page with a error or in-line with the forums), there are several forums to help you fix it (if you cannot figure out what you did wrong to begin with):
 * phpBBHacks.com
 * phpBB.com

Errors
Before going to a forum for help, just to prevent yourself looking like a idiot for missing something so simple, check this out:
 * Double checking your file edits
 * Check you edited the right file
 * Check you modified the correct line in the correct place
 * Check you modified the line in the correct way
 * Make sure you copied the modified files over the server
 * Check you copied over any files that were included with the MOD that needed to be copied over
 * i.e. - Files that are custom created by the MOD author

Overall, you should be good with that. If in doubt, check the external links.