Nicholas posted these instructions to a similar question earlier today:
Upgrading from an old Joomla! version on a low-end server can be challenging. There is a way around this.
- Make a backup with Akeeba Backup
- Restore the backup locally, e.g. on a XAMPP, WAMPServer or MAMP installation depending on which operating system you use.
- Perform the update on the local clone of your site. If the automatic update fails you can download the update package and install it as an extension. For more information please consult the Joomla! documentation. VERY IMPORTANT! Upgrading from Joomla! 3.1 may require a different set of instructions.
- Make sure everything is working. You MAY have to update extensions and your template!
- Backup the local copy of your site.
- Do a test restoration of the backup on your LOCAL server (your computer). This is important! In the next step we'll remove the old version of your live site. You MUST make sure that your backup works.
- Delete all files and folders from your live site. This is an important step. You must NOT keep the old Joomla! 3.1 files before restoring the new Joomla! 3.4 site or your site WILL break.
- Upload the backup of the new Joomla! site and Kickstart.
- Run Kickstart and restore the update site.
I know it's like having to take the scenic route but this is the safest way to upgrade from a very, very old version of Joomla!. At the very least you have backups of your site at all stages: original, right after the update, completely updated and ready for action. If crap happens you can restore from a backup, take a deep breath and retry.
FYI, this is the method yours truly is using on every major update of Joomla!. It's the long way but it's also the safe way :)
Dale L. Brackin
Support Specialist
English: native
Please keep in mind my timezone and cultural differences when reading my replies. Thank you!
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