Existing hosted blog and wp-admin not opening

I was able to solve the problem. I had noticed a post about not being able to access the admin panel and the solution was to use phyMyAdmin to edit the SQL database record — changing two lines (template and stylesheet) by renaming the theme to “default”.

Then the admin panel opened, as did the blog, only in the default theme. So, closed the panel and went back to the database, renamed the theme back to the original name (atahualpa3.2) using the same phyMyAdmin process.

I reopened the panel and the blog and everything is back to normal.

The page that described this process is at:
https://wordpress.shadowlantern.com/change-wordpress-theme-in-phpmyadmin/

Thanks for helping me with this… very appreciated and I will heed your advice and upgrade, even if I have to reformat the pages.

Please do. With all due respect, we’d rather not see you back here looking for help cleaning up a hacked site. ??

Yes…I will carve out time this weekend to upgrade, and I ay have to upgrade the theme, as well, and then I may have to fix the pages — but it is better to be safe… I agree!

To ease the upgrade, I’d suggest deactivating all plugin and switching to the default theme before starting the upgrade process. And do remember to backup your database before each upgrade step. Once you reach WordPress 2.8 or 2.9, you should be able to switch over to the Twenty Ten theme to carry out the last upgrade step.

Oh – and forgot to mention that the current version of Atahualpa should be fine with the current version of WordPress. If you hit any problems with the theme, try posting on https://forum.bytesforall.com/

okay… so I will have to upgrade in version order… and it looks like there are about 32 versions following mine — so I suspect that will take a while…or, is there a way to limit the number of upgrade stages (maybe it jumps in full sections — 2.8, 2.9. 3.0 etc.)

I will do whatever it takes to become current

You should be able to use a scheme like 2.7.1 -> 2.9 -> 3.1 -> 3.3 -> 3.5.1

By the way, you should be able to see the blog now (I hope).

One other thing — as I do these upgrades I am guessing the blog will still be visible using the default theme or the twentytwenty theme throughout the effort, is that correct?

Secondly, should I upgrade using the button in the admin panel — or — should I use the link you gave me earlier about “upgrading wordpress extended” ?

is that correct?

During the actual upgrades, an “Undergoing maintenance” notice will be displayed on the site. as soon as an upgrade is completed, the site will re-appear using the default theme.

should I upgrade using the button in the admin panel

Absolutely not! You cannot use the 1-click upgrade for such a huge update without risking trashing your database. Follow the instructions in Upgrading_WordPress_Extended.

I like the maintenance page… excellent

I was thinking the same thing and I will do the steps in the extended instructions… just wanted to be sure

I really appreciate all your help, Thanks so much!

Not sure if you speak in public, but if you do and you would like some constructive feedback, I will be happy to return the favor.

I’ll bear that in mind when I next do a presentation on web accessibility & WordPress. ??

no problem…

okay last question… there are 14 steps in the instructions and then four more for Version 2.7 until I get to 3.1. I suspect I will do these things with each successive upgrade. I can do that…

so, to get started, I should download from the archives, version 2.9 and transfer those files, do everything, then go to the archives and download 3.1, and so on, similar to the upgrade stages you outlined?

Yep. ??