Body: <p>Is it totally crazy to think of creating a new Civi install (have one set up in Drupal 9 already) and merging a well-used Civi database into it, table by table? We've had our Civi install since around 2011 and the database is about 1.35gb and has about 22 thousand contacts. We can put in work to re-configure after moving, but I need to know if it's realistic to do it this way, as opposed to just moving the current database to the new install. We are looking to move to Drupal 8/9, from Drupal 7.</p>
  <p>The reason is both the size of the database, so we can get rid of a bunch of unnecessary data, but after so many years there are many glitches and problems with the current database, probably more than I even know. I have started to make a list of what data is critical to move. I know there are many interconnected tables, but don't know enough details to know if something like this is realistic.</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2021-03-17T02:49:10.190Z
Comments.Text: I started to answer and then realized it probably wasn't a good answer. Do you think your problems are config or data? For example when you say you can reconfig after moving, if you have custom fields and the problems are custom field-related this approach might not work well.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Demerit
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2021-03-17T08:28:03.230Z
Comments.Text: i would focus on fixing the problems and getting rid of unneeded data, and then copying whole db, unless you aim to strip back so much data that you could pretty much achieve what you want via an export/import. i would think you will run in to lots of issues doing this table by table unless you know the data structure really well - especially if you are wanting to retain any log tables
Comments.UserDisplayName: petednz - fuzion
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2021-03-17T19:16:54.360Z
Comments.Text: Thanks for the responses. There have been a number of issues through the years, but the things that stick out in my head currently are with CiviVolunteer and CiviCase, both were a mess. Both are stuck and can't be completely removed, but also won't work or install properly. We had someone work and delete CiviVolunteer tables and try and reinstall, but no luck. We've had other hiccups upgrading, but for daily use most everything else is working fine. I'm hearing that it would be difficult, even with someone knowledgable about database structure.
Comments.UserDisplayName: desierto
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2021-03-17T19:17:56.190Z
Comments.Text: We could get by w/o log tables, if all was functioning. Perhaps we should bring the whole database and instead try manual database purging of what we don't need.
Comments.UserDisplayName: desierto
Tags: <database>
Title: Merging much of a large well-used database to a new install... even possible?
ThreadText: # Merging much of a large well-used database to a new install... even possible?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2021-03-16)
  
  Is it totally crazy to think of creating a new Civi install (have one set up in Drupal 9 already) and merging a well-used Civi database into it, table by table? We've had our Civi install since around 2011 and the database is about 1.35gb and has about 22 thousand contacts. We can put in work to re-configure after moving, but I need to know if it's realistic to do it this way, as opposed to just moving the current database to the new install. We are looking to move to Drupal 8/9, from Drupal 7.
  
  The reason is both the size of the database, so we can get rid of a bunch of unnecessary data, but after so many years there are many glitches and problems with the current database, probably more than I even know. I have started to make a list of what data is critical to move. I know there are many interconnected tables, but don't know enough details to know if something like this is realistic.
  
  **Tags:** database
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: I started to answer and then realized it probably wasn't a good answer. Do you think your problems are config or data? For example when you say you can reconfig after moving, if you have custom fields and the problems are custom field-related this approach might not work well.  
  > **username_2**: i would focus on fixing the problems and getting rid of unneeded data, and then copying whole db, unless you aim to strip back so much data that you could pretty much achieve what you want via an export/import. i would think you will run in to lots of issues doing this table by table unless you know the data structure really well - especially if you are wanting to retain any log tables  
  > **username_0**: Thanks for the responses. There have been a number of issues through the years, but the things that stick out in my head currently are with CiviVolunteer and CiviCase, both were a mess. Both are stuck and can't be completely removed, but also won't work or install properly. We had someone work and delete CiviVolunteer tables and try and reinstall, but no luck. We've had other hiccups upgrading, but for daily use most everything else is working fine. I'm hearing that it would be difficult, even with someone knowledgable about database structure.  
  > **username_0**: We could get by w/o log tables, if all was functioning. Perhaps we should bring the whole database and instead try manual database purging of what we don't need.  
  
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  ## 0 answers
  
  