Upgrading from Drupal 6 to 7

Upgrading your Drupal installation
Upgrade vs. Update
Before you continue reading we need to define the difference beween upgrading and updating:
* Upgrading refers to moving from one major release to another. E.g. you are moving from
Drupal 6 to Drupal 7.
* Updating typically refers to bringing your site up to the latest minor version of Drupal
e.g. like updating from Drupal 6.12 to Drupal 6.14.
For information on updating your Drupal site see: http://drupal.org/node/390448

Upgrading your Drupal installation
The process of upgrading to the latest version of Drupal can vary in difficulty depending on the complexity of your current installation. This guide aims to help you plan for and complete a successful upgrade regardless of the size or complexity of your current site.

Any Drupal upgrade has four general steps: Planning; Preparing your current site for upgrade; Upgrading and Testing.

Before you begin reading this guide please make note of the following.

Upgrading Between Versions
You can only upgrade from one version to the next version. For example you are trying to move from Drupal 5 to Drupal 7 you first need to upgrade to Drupal 6 before you upgrade to Drupal 7.

Back Up Your Existing Site
Regularly backing up your site is considered a best practice. A full backup of your site database, core Drupal files, non-core files (e.g. contributed modules, and file upload folders) is strongly recommended before starting any site upgrade.

You may also wish to familiarize yourself with restoring your site from a backup prior to starting your upgrade. If something should go wrong during your upgrade and you need to restore your site from backup, it is best to be prepared so you can restore your site quickly. See [link] for more information on how to back up and restore your site.