Blue Iris

I want to upgrade from BI4 to BI5 and also move to a new computer. Can't find any detail on the process. Upgrade to v5 then move to new computer, or go straight to installing v5 on new computer? Can anyone provide the proper steps?

I'd probably backup from 4 and shutdown the service, upgrade to 5 then load 5 amd backup again which would be the file I'd restore on the new machine. Uninstall 4 from the old machine which will likely deregister it anyway. Hopefully your old system and new system are both 64bit otherwise that change can cause some issues.

There should be a section in the BI manual on how to move an install from one machine to another.

I do not believe uninstalling deactivates.

You can leave BI v4 or V5 on your old computer, just deactivate it, then back it up.

Install the same version on the new machine, then copy the backup to the new machine and import it. Activate/register BI. You should have the same settings. No not import a V4 backup into V5.

Unless you have the extended support level on your v4 machine, V5 will be a cost.

The version on your old machine can be kept there without any issues. A 'demo' BI install can be used as a viewer.

thanks for the comments

I find the "BI manual" (aka the Help file) to be a little vague on this subject. I presume I go to the Download section on the BI web site and click on "Download V5"? Once downloaded I can run it (install) on my existing BI4 machine (which would upgrade me to BI5)?

Yes. But... V4 to V5 is a major upgrade, and there is a fee for major version upgrades - Unless you have the yearly extended support plan, which includes major upgrades.

Minor upgrades are free. However, there was a change in V5 some time back that BI will check for minor upgrades and install them ONLY if you have an yearly extended support plan. You can still download the upgrades & install them manually from the BI website.

After doing the V4 to V5 upgrade on your existing system, I'm not sure what will happen. I think it will switch to demo mode, and prompt you for registration. You can always enter your V4 registration to see if that will do anything - but I don't think it will work. You can click 'Demo', then go into BI settings 'About' tab and click the 'Update/Renew' button.

You can alo send BI support a message about the V4 to V5 upgrade process, AND, moving it to a new machine.

IAmATeaf wrote: ↑Tue Oct 13, 2020 12:52 pm I thought that if your support expired then you can only install the last update that came out before that expiry date regardless if you auto download it or somehow get the GUI to do it as you’ll end up going into evaluation mode?

It was my understanding that even without a support plan, one could always go to the Blue Iris Updates webpage, and manually download an run the updates... https://blueirissoftware.com/updates/

Also, see the 'Blue Iris Updates' web page. It mentions how to upgrade from V4 to V5.
It's not complete. It does not mention how to get the V4 backup into V5. I wouldn't think they are compatible.

V4 and V5 can both be installed. When I upgraded to V5, I think I setup V5 from scratch, using V4 as reference. When V5 was running fine, I uninstalled V4.