Upgrading MySQL from 3.23 to 4.x+, How the heck do I do it? Options

[John Pozadzides]

When I say I'm really frustrated at the moment, that's an understatement...

I've been running Wordpress on my personal blogs for quite some time now. I have my own dedicated Linux server and I use Plesk 8.x to manage it.

Today they just announced the general release of the latest Wordpress 2.1, which I was very excited about because it is a major update. So, after spending quite a bit of time backing up my data and stuff I proceeded to install the update - only to then learn that the system would NOT update because it now requires MySQL version 4.x or higher!

AARRggh! They didn't bother stating that requirement change in the upgrade documentation and that caused a bunch of people, including myself, a huge panic!

Back to the story now (thanks for letting me vent), my server is running MySQL 3.23.58-16.FC2.1. I have 16 databases (all Wordpress databases except for one Invision Power Board DB). Now I need to have MySQL 4 or 5 on the machine in order to do the Wordpress upgrade.

The problem is, I haven't got a clue how to perform this upgrade!?! I've googled and searched MySQL.com but there is just nothing clear.

• Can anyone give me an idea of how to accomplish this? Please use small words... as I am NOT a Linux guy.
• Once MySQL has been updated, do the databases have to be re-built or something like that?
• Will later versions of MySQL offer a performance increase or decrease?
• Would I be correct to assume that if I have to make an upgrade at this point it would be wisest to go to ver. 5?
• How can I protect myself from catastrophic failure? These databases are for my personal blog as well as friends and family blogs and a non-profit organization. If I screw this up it will be difficult to recover from...

I've approached my web host, but they won't perform just an upgrade since I have a self-managed server. They only offered to wipe the entire box and then put fresh versions of everything on it. But then I'd be in even worse condition I think...

I would appreciate all the wisdom and guidance anyone can provide with regards to this issue. It's pretty depressing to be faced with something that seems so complex even though you know you've got to do it.

Thanks,

John