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Switching Hosts


thatguy

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Hi, i am with another hosting company and although my service there has not been to bad, i am looking into other options, for what i am paying there i could more then double the bandwidth i have now, and storage space for that matter! my questions are how long does it take to respond to help tickets? i had one open with my host for 6 days and ended up resolving it myself. my other question is, how much would you charge for transfering my domain and site over to here? Lastly i think it will be a while till i switch because my host charges for transfering to another company and doesnt guarantee that it will work any way.

 

you know i searched for months looking for hosting companies, where the heck where you guys when i was looking? :)

 

Regards,

 

Bill

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Help desk tickets are replied to ASAP. certainly quicker than 6 days, Support is also available via live chat (there is a link at the top of the forums as well as a link on every TCH page) and also available vie AOL instant messenger and Yahoo instant messenger with the screennames

tchgurumike

tchgurubill

tchgurumitch

tchguruandy

tchgururick

 

If your current host also uses cPanel we can transfer your site from their server to our server at no charge. If you want to transfer the domain name as well as the site there is a $10.95 charge for the domain name transfer.

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Thanks very much for your reply, i got this link from a person a chat with who is with my hosting company, from what i understand she is coming here, and if things get much worse with the host i am with now i am coming here, the plan i am looking at has much more value for the money then the one i have now, i will check back every once and a while for advice, i dont get much of it with my host, again thanks for your time.

 

 

Bill

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I also am considering switching from my current host to yours. Better product for the money in my opinion. But I do have a few questions.

 

1. My web site is on my own registered domain name. I registered the name for one year but still have 8 months or so left before renewal comes up. My questions is, you charged to move my domain to your hosting? If so, why and how much?

 

2.I run a phpbb forum on my site. There are many, many members and hundreds of threads and posts. Question here is, can the forum be completely moved to your host without losing any part of it or any information on it?

 

3.If I decide to go ahead and switch my entire site to your hosting, how long will it take once I sign up and pay you before it is all back up and running like it is now?

 

Thanks

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thought you guys might want an opinion from someone other than a TCH employee (considering they're a little biased)...

 

i signed up about a week or two ago and have been VERY impressed. Let's put it this way ... I use another hosting company for another site i manage and i absolutely loved that host. super fast, the guy is very personable, and support questions are usually answered within 10 minutes ... well as hard as it is to believe, i'm growing more fond of TCH than I am of that other host i love so much. both are amazing but this place is just fantastic.

 

thatguy ... if you are even a little unhappy with your other host. switch ... you'll thank yourself later.

 

bigshew, one of the gurus can answer some of your qs better but for what it's worth:

 

1. if you have access to your domain through whoever it is registered to (i.e. register.com or godaddy.com) you can point it to your TCH account free. just change the name servers to the ones TCH give you. Or i understand these guys can do it for you for a charge.

 

2. if you're good with MySQL, again you can move it for free and have it exatally how it was before. otherwise these guys can do it gor you given a few bucks and some stipulations (i think)

 

3. to give you an idea ... my account was setup within about 30 minutes. i payed with paypal. also ... i moved my site over myself and it took me all of about an hour. most of that was waiting for my files to download from my old host (it's slow) and installing Movable Type on this side.

 

hope this helps ...

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Yes thanks alot. It helps alot. I am not too up on MySQL but I am a fast study. I want my forums to remain intact and will do whatever for that reason even if it requires paying a little extra for that to be done. I have backed up my forum database if that will help. I am waiting to find out everything from TCH and if all is to my liking I can switch over right away...like TONIGHT! I am so tired of the hosting I am with now I could just scream. Takes forever to get a reply to tech questions and they are never the right answer. I asked them about moving a file to a different location and how to do it. Their reply was for it to work it had to be moved. Does that make any sense? I already knew that! These people suck and I need a good hosting service for my site. So if anyone from TCH is reading this thread, please respond so I can go ahead and move over right away. Thanks. And thanks again to you shakes!

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Hi,

 

Excellant news then! When you have your hosting account here set up, drop us a ticket and we can move the cpanel over for you, thats your entire site moved just like that!

 

So keep using your current old website but do the above, it will make moving a whole lot easier!

 

Jim

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Sounds good. That means the phpbb forums and EVERYTHING will be moved? How fast can it be done and what will be my TOTAL initial cost for all this if say I go with the starter plan? And how do you bill? Monthly or yearly or what? The one I am with now bills every 3 months.

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Hi,

 

I believe it moves the entire site.

 

Cost is free to move it, but its not something that can be done instantly, normally within 72 hours once we have the right info. Normally its done quicker, but that would be a maximum time limit.

 

With the starter plan, it can be billed monthly or yearly, your choice.

 

A change over can't and should not be done in a flash as you need to allow time for ISPs to update caches and to solve the odd minor problem and no doubt update your own content etc.

 

Normally the best thing to do is create the account. We then give you a temp IP address for you to use. Upload the site or get it transferred over and check it all out. Still use the old site and no one will know. Once your happy, change the name servers and sit back and wait. Remember to inform your customers whats going on and the most you will loose would be say a day or two postings from the phpBB forum, and even then, if you want it to be perfect, just replicate the database accross

 

Setting up accounts takes upto 12 hours once we have confirmation of payment

 

Jim

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So if I sign up with the starter plan to give it a try for a while, the only thing I pay for now is the $4.00 monthly fee?

 

Also, do you explain how I would need to change whatever needs to be changed for my domain name to show up on your server? Sorry, but as you can tell, I'm still a novice at alot of this. Thanks.

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So if I sign up with the starter plan to give it a try for a while, the only thing I pay for now is the $4.00 monthly fee?

 

Also, do you explain how I would need to change whatever needs to be changed for my domain name to show up on your server? Sorry, but as you can tell, I'm still a novice at alot of this. Thanks.

Yes, all you pay is $4.00 to get started.

 

All you will need to change is the DNS settings through the registrar that you purchased your domain name through, we have several flash tutorials listed in the FAQ and how to section of the forums on how to change them for most of the more well known registrars.

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Sorry to be a pest but I have a couple more questions.

 

Like I said, I am still a novice to all this and want to make sure if I move that everything will remain intact but I am hoping that an initial cost is not high.

 

Also would like to know what version of phpbb do you offer for the forums? My current hosting service uses phpBB 2.0.3

 

And is there something special needed to be done to use the live help above? I have noticed that sometimes I click it and it gives an error and the other times it shows that all departments are offline. I have yet to connect with a person to ask these questions.

 

I am very impressed by what you offer but I am so new to all this, I want to be sure of everything before I switch so I don't screw up my web site and forums. I hope you understand that is why I am asking so many questions.

I just want to be sure of what has to be done to just have my current site switched to be completely through you and what that will cost upfront. Thanks for all your help.

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As mentioned before, if yout current host uses cPanel we can do a server to server transfer at no cost

 

I believe the PHPbb we provide is 2.0.3 I'm not sure on that since I installed my forums myself.

 

Live help is normally available during normal business hours, I'm on the support desk 8-10 hours a day most days. (anywhere from 8am - 7pm CST, and often times much later especially if there is a server issue) you can also contact most of the support staff via AOL instant messenger, If I'm awake i have AIM on.

tchgurubill

tchgurumike

tchgurumitch

tchgururick

tchguruandy

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I'm glad to see that thatguy made it here. It is I you should blame if he signs up here:) Thtaguy, myself, and another on the 'other' host had/have terrible experiences. I went-a-hunting, trudged through 100+ hosts and ended up shortlisting two - TCH and another. I recommend to both, Thatguy and another that they too visit here. I hope we can all find space here at TCH.

 

As for myself, I'm waiting for a couple of questions to be answered - maybe in the wrong Topic area, but needing answering non the less.

 

I have 3 sites that need a new home. Not as Addons as once suggested here, but each their own as they belong to others - I just manage them.

 

TCH has something many other don't - a nice atmosphere. Signing up with a host should be a long-term experience - this time - I'm being careful.

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Hi,

 

To sign up, goto here and choose your package: http://www.totalchoicehosting.com/web-host...ting-plans.html and click order at the bottom!

 

To install a phpBB forum yourself is very simple. It seems a bit of a mind blow when you first sit down and look at it, but its very simple, honestly! If you get stuck there is always the forums here to help you and the fourms at the phpBB website are excellant too.

 

Shiva, I hope your questions have been answered, if not, please post the required link and tell me which ones have not been answered!

 

Jim

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I just signed up with another hosting company last night and registered my domain name with them. After all of that I found out that the items that I needed for my website are not provided on their hosting system.

 

It looks like this hosting site would work perfectly, but I wanted to know how can I go about signing up with this service and changing my domain name to here? Can I do this as soon as the DNS is finished updating?

 

Thanks,

-Eric

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Hi,

 

Yes, you can even sign up before its updating. Here's why:

 

1) You have brought another account from another web hosting company and a domain name point it but have realised its not what you expected.

 

2) Sign up for one of our packages. Each package comes with a 30 day money back policy.

 

3) Once we have recieved payment, we send you a welcome email, this contains all the details you need to know, including a temp IP address to view your site. E.g. Http://server921.totalchoicehosting.com/~timmy/

 

4) You can then access your cpanel and your site through this address and you can upload content and check everything works.

 

5) When your ready, log in to the area where your domain name is kept. Some of them require you to send an email. Whatever you need to do, do it, and change the domain name servers to point to ours (these are sent to you in the welcome email)

 

6) Sit back and put your feet up. It takes upto 72 hours for the domain name changes to filter through the net, so don't worry. Note that during this time, people may see both sites

 

7) After 72 hours, confirm everything is working on your new account here at totalchoicehosting and that the domain name is ok, and then close your old account with the not so nice provider and welcome to our family here at totalchoicehosting!

 

Jim

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Jim,

Thanks for the quick response! I just read that I can not transfer the domain name until after 60days has passed. Can I still do this with this hosting company without transfering the domain name yet? Once I cancel my hosting with the first site will I still be able to point my domain name to your location?

 

Sorry if these are really basic questions :goof: I just don't want to have to go thru this again in a few days.

 

-Eric

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Hi,

 

A few things to get cleared up so as not to confuse you:

 

A) Domain Name Servers. These are servers that a domain name looks at when it is called up. So when say you type www.totalchoicehosting, it looks at ns1.totalchoicehosting.com and knows where to point the user.

 

:goof: Transferring a domain. This invovles physically the domain moving between different "domain hosters". They often imply that you can't keep on trasferring it around the place like you have found above. However, you should be able to change the domain name servers. This means the domain does not physically get moved to another domain hoster, it just looks at a different place for your website.

 

E.g.

 

For instance, my friends have a domain name with www.domainhosterXXX.com (fictous) yet he has a website here at totalchoicehosting.com

 

All he did was to log into his domain name control area and click on his nameservers.

 

Originally, they where pointing to:

ns1.domainhosterXXX.com

ns2.domainhosterXXX.com

 

And he changed them to be: (Correct ones are given in your welcome email, ignore these!!)

ns1.totalchoicehosting.com

ns2.totalchoicehosting.com

 

After 72 hours, his site was working fine, and he didnt have to move the domain name over.

 

If your unable to login, you can normally email them and tell them to change the domain name servers over.

 

Hope this helps, if not, do ask more questions!

 

Jim

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Well I thought I was in good shape. I signed on to Totalchoice early this morning and even was able to upload files already. But now I find out that my old service, EhostPro, has a block on domain names it registers so that I cannot get my web site name released from them. It is wrong for them to do that. So now I can't use my web site unless I stay on Ehost and I am not happy about that. I was told to go to the registrar and request they move it, but they say I have to go through Ehost. It looks like I will not be able to stay with Totalchoice after all. It is a shame since they look so good that I cannot use them and have to cancel my account after only one day. But so far EhostPro has ignore several emails from me about this subject. I hate EhostPro! Sorry Totalchoice, guess I have to leave you before we ever got to know each other.

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do they own the domain? or are they just the technical contact? do a whois search on your domain and see if your name is listed anywhere in there. if it is you should be able to get the name servers changed or move it to another registrar one way or another.

 

when you signed up with ehost did you get a seoarate e-mail from a registrar (not ehost) providing you with an account number and password?

 

i wouldn't go down without a fight ... it's really wrong for a company to do that. registrars can hold on to domains for a given time period to stop people from changing every 2 days, but it's just not right for a hosting service to take ownership of all domains that go through them.

 

next time do yourself a favor and register your domain on your own and then just get some hosting and point your domain to the name servers they give you. I use godaddy.com for my name registrations. super cheap and haven't had a problem yet.

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Hi,

 

To sign up, goto here and choose your package: ....

 

To install a phpBB forum yourself is very simple. It seems a...

 

Shiva, I hope your questions ...

Jim

Oh, I've looked through all the plans, and know something about installing programs/scripts on a host - I've been doing it for 11 years - since Mosaic first came out - before Netscape and before IE. But that's dating myself along with dinosaurs :dance: I don't have birthdays any more - they just carbon date me.

 

As for the questions. You answered some already - sort of. You said " Another thing which is kind of disabled is parked domains" Ahhh "kind of"? Is it angle parking then? :rolleyes: Regardless, the most important was answered - Addons only for resellers. Since Addons are just pointing to subdomains, I don't see the logic in not allowing them for everyone, unless Addons detract from selling reseller accounts. I guess it might. What ever the reasons - I'm sure they are good ones.

 

Since Addons are forbidden on basic accounts, I lept over the next important question - that of PhP Safe Mode being on or off - off is better IMHO since most 3rd party scripts need to write files inside that arena - like Exporting skins for example. Can't, if Safe Mode is On, even IMport skins unless done manually and that is quite the task in itself.

 

But I do feel compelled to recommend your services to three other people, one whom I see has already visited and another I will be meeting with next week. The other three require Addon Domains so I can add on some mini-webs, each with their own registered doms that tie into one another through a main portal. A straight Sub-web is out of the question - else why own the Doms - right? Hint though - the competition are allowing them. They are not rare. And I know one other that is going to a host on MY shortlist simply because they allow Addons. For her, it's because she has a web she uses give out grades in her adult ed classes, and her son their family web. Their existing host convinced her, a neophite, to register the two as separate Doms and buy two host accounts. Who needs two accounts for such registered Doms small webs? Easier to manage under one roof too. Just something to consider for the future.

 

Thanks Jim

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i think the main reason for no add-on domains is because it's just bad business to allow someone to run 4 different sites pertaining to different copanies/topics from one account.

 

however if you have two domains owned by one company, or that point to different sections of the same site that are both ultimately about the same topic ... i think it should be allowed (at least for a extra charge)

 

but alas ... i think i'll be upgrading to a reseller account soon. the wife wants a site and i manage a few others so it just makes sense.

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i think the main reason for no add-on domains is because it's just bad business to allow someone to run 4 different sites pertaining to different copanies/topics from one account.

 

I can see that the topic is mute, since it would be very hard for TCH to do otherwise when a lot of it's customers pay for that as Reseller accounts. But you saids "bad business to allow someone to run 4 different sites pertaining to different copanies/topics from one account". I beleive the real word here in 'un-profitable'. Meaning no disrespect at all to TCH, many places do the same thing.

 

In the real scheme of things, "business" is very new to the internet. At first, for a long time, after SAC, the internet was just a bunch of university computers linked together with nothing more than textual data. Business wanted nothing to do with the internet - it was a "passing fancy - wont last" was the feeling of many big corporations. You know, those same guys spending millions now to make their site moire glitzy, than the competitors. Hosting is changing and trends are changing with so much to chose from. It is probably the only international type of business that is totaly unregulated but policed by it's customers.

 

The whole initial intent of the net has become bogged down in "business". But assume for a minute that in a area 4 boy scout troops each have a Dom and agree to host them together. Under the regionalscouts.org Dom, addons are created.

Sure it saves them money and the host isn't making 4 times the amount. But they shopped around and found places that provide it. At TCH, if I remember right, and many other hosts, they could get RegionalsScouts.Org (for example only) account and have the other be regionalscouts.org/area1 and and regionalscouts.org/area2 and so on - using sub-domains. The only one losing out is the registrar.

 

The issue is, as I said - mute - I just like to have the last word :)

 

I am still bringing a client here whom I will meet with again this week. I'm confident that once she is accustomed to Forums, and learns a bit about how to upgrade and maintain her site, will no doubt appreciate the generosity of the experienced, and friendy people here.

 

See you then

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