Thanks. I'm going to take a look into that later thanks.

The issue should be fixed with the changes to the update server proposed in #18192 please test and report back. Thanks.

The issue is not fixed. It is merely bypassed.

I'm happy to test any code fix that helps here without hacking the menu system or rewrite com_joomlaupdate. ?

@mbabker @zero-24 Please see this forum topic very similar to issue reported by @brianteeman.

@franz-wohlkoenig Plese re-open temporally for better visibility.

Set to "open" on behalf of @franz-wohlkoenig by The JTracker Application at issues.joomla.org/joomla-cms/17967

reopened as stated above.

update 2.5.28 to 3.5.1 used to work seamlessly (with the remember me plugin disabled)).
I used to be able to do it on localhost with xampp. Now I use xampp with php7 ... I use wamp. But now I get errors. Could this be a database issue ? because wamp is msql not msqli ?

AFAIK 2.5 isn't PHP 7 compatible so you probably need to be on a 5.6 version to do that upgrade.

@mbabker In forum topic php 5.6 don't work also.

Then it's an extension issue because I took the effort to ensure 2.5.28 was PHP 5.6 friendly before issuing the release and closing the branch.

@mbabker Give me a moment to test same thing.

@mbabker I can't reproduce this, but see this post - in the method 2 all 3rd party extensions are disabled.

@mbabker
I will rephrase

I used to be able to do it on localhost with xampp. Now I use xampp with php7 ... I use wamp. But now I get errors. Could this be a database issue ? because wamp is msql not msqli ?

When I used xampp with php5 the update 2.5.28 to 3.5.1 used to work seamlessly. I now have xampp with php7 so I now also have wamp to use php5. But the update 2.5.28 to 3.5.1 fails on wamp. I ask again ... Could this be a database issue ? because wamp is msql not msqli ?

No. Both 2.5 and 3.x support both mysql and mysqli as long as the underlying PHP engine dependencies are met. And as of 3.5.0 there is code in the database driver factory to detect if you are running PHP 7 with mysql set as the driver and attempt to auto-convert to mysqli if it is available on your platform, so even that configuration shouldn't be problematic.

@Webdongle #17967 (comment) I tested this case on JAMP (paid alternative to XAMP and similar solutions -there is a free trial) and this is working.

@mbabker

Then it's an extension issue because I took the effort to ensure 2.5.28 was PHP 5.6 friendly before issuing the release and closing the branch

Does that mean that the 2.5.28 stable full zip install (or updates) has changed after it was released ?

No. PHP 5.6 support was finalized before 2.5.28 was released.

For clarity I tested on:
php 5.6.20
mysql and mysqli extensions loaded but dbtype set to mysql
Client API library version mysqlnd 5.0.11-dev - 20120503
Windows 8.1

Just tested on Uniform server and update ran smoothly.
Brought to login screen
Logged in
Brought to http://localhost/j2528b/administrator/index.php?option=com_joomlaupdate&view=default&layout=complete

Your site has been successfully updated. Your Joomla version is now 3.5.1.

But a message above it

An error has occurred.

Cleared cache

Could it be a time out issue ?

Further testing
The update 2.5.28 to 3.5.1 fails with

Database Version 5.7.19
Database Collation utf8_general_ci
Database Connection Collation utf8mb4_general_ci
PHP Version 5.6.31
Web Server Apache/2.4.27 (Win64) PHP/5.6.31

Server: MySQL (127.0.0.1 via TCP/IP)
Server type: MySQL
Server version: 5.7.19 - MySQL Community Server (GPL)
Protocol version: 10
User: root@localhost
Server charset: UTF-8 Unicode (utf8)
Apache/2.4.27 (Win64) PHP/5.6.31
Database client version: libmysql - mysqlnd 5.0.11-dev - 20120503 - $Id:   76b08b24596e12d4553bd41fc93cccd5bac2fe7a $
PHP extension: mysqliDocumentation curlDocumentation mbstringDocumentation 

The update 2.5.28 to 3.5.1 succeeds with
Database Version 5.6.34
Database Collation utf8_general_ci
Database Connection Collation utf8mb4_general_ci
PHP Version 5.6.28
Web Server Apache

Server: Uniform Server (127.0.0.1 via TCP/IP)
Server type: MySQL
Server version: 5.6.34 - MySQL Community Server (GPL)
Protocol version: 10
User: root@localhost
Server charset: UTF-8 Unicode (utf8)
 Apache
Database client version: libmysql - mysqlnd 5.0.11-dev - 20120503 - $Id: 76b08b24596e12d4553bd41fc93cccd5bac2fe7a $
PHP extension: mysqliDocumentation curlDocumentation mbstringDocumentation

A time out issue would be more reliant on PHP configuration settings, not just running different versions. We'd need more of the PHP configuration to consider something timing out, or PHP error logs if there's anything helpful.

It could also be possible (not sure how likely but we can entertain it for a second) that there is an issue with MySQL 5.7 and Joomla 2.5.

@mbabker In the topic I link there is FPA report. See also this topic in both cases there are wired database structure issues.

@mbabker
Update log for 2.5.28 to 3.5.1 update that stuck on /finalising
`#
#
#Date: 2017-10-13 10:29:23 UTC
#Software: Joomla Platform 13.1.0 Stable [ Curiosity ] 24-Apr-2013 00:00 GMT

#Fields: datetime priority clientip category message
2017-10-13T10:29:23+00:00 INFO ::1 update Finalising installation.
2017-10-13T10:29:24+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__users DROP INDEX usertype;.
2017-10-13T10:29:24+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__session DROP INDEX whosonline;.
2017-10-13T10:29:24+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: DROP TABLE IF EXISTS #__update_categories;.
2017-10-13T10:29:25+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__contact_details DROP imagepos;.
2017-10-13T10:29:25+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__content DROP COLUMN title_alias;.
2017-10-13T10:29:25+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__content DROP COLUMN sectionid;.
2017-10-13T10:29:25+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__content DROP COLUMN mask;.
2017-10-13T10:29:25+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__content DROP COLUMN parentid;.
2017-10-13T10:29:26+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__newsfeeds DROP COLUMN filename;.
2017-10-13T10:29:26+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__menu DROP COLUMN ordering;.
2017-10-13T10:29:26+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__session DROP COLUMN usertype;.
2017-10-13T10:29:26+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__users DROP COLUMN usertype;.
2017-10-13T10:29:26+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__updates DROP COLUMN categoryid;.
2017-10-13T10:29:26+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: UPDATE #__extensions SET protected = 0 WHERE name = 'com_search' OR name =.
2017-10-13T10:29:26+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: DELETE FROM #__extensions WHERE extension_id = 800;.
2017-10-13T10:29:28+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__assets ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:28+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__associations ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:29+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__banners ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:30+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__banner_clients ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:31+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__banner_tracks ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:32+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__categories ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:33+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__contact_details ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:35+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__content ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:36+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__content_frontpage ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:37+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__content_rating ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:38+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__core_log_searches ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:40+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__extensions ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:40+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__finder_filters ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:42+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__finder_links ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:43+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__finder_links_terms0 ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:44+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__finder_links_terms1 ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:47+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__finder_links_terms2 ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:48+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__finder_links_terms3 ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:50+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__finder_links_terms4 ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:51+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__finder_links_terms5 ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:52+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__finder_links_terms6 ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:53+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__finder_links_terms7 ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:54+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__finder_links_terms8 ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:55+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__finder_links_terms9 ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:56+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__finder_links_termsa ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:56+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__finder_links_termsb ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:57+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__finder_links_termsc ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:58+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__finder_links_termsd ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:29:59+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__finder_links_termse ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:00+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__finder_links_termsf ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:01+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__finder_taxonomy ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:03+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__finder_taxonomy_map ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:04+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__finder_terms ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:05+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__finder_terms_common ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:06+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__finder_types ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:10+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__languages ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:13+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__menu ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:14+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__menu_types ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:14+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__messages ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:15+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__messages_cfg ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:16+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__modules ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:18+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__modules_menu ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:19+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__newsfeeds ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:21+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__overrider ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:22+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__redirect_links ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:23+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__schemas ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:24+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__session ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:27+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__template_styles ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:28+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__updates ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:29+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__update_sites ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:32+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__update_sites_extensions ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:34+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__users ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:36+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__usergroups ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:38+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__user_notes ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:38+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__user_profiles ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:40+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__user_usergroup_map ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:42+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__viewlevels ENGINE=InnoDB;.
2017-10-13T10:30:46+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__newsfeeds ADD COLUMN description text NOT NULL;.
2017-10-13T10:30:48+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__newsfeeds ADD COLUMN version int(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAUL.
2017-10-13T10:30:50+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__newsfeeds ADD COLUMN hits int(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT '.
2017-10-13T10:30:53+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__newsfeeds ADD COLUMN images text NOT NULL;.
2017-10-13T10:30:57+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__contact_details ADD COLUMN version int(10) unsigned NOT NULL .
2017-10-13T10:31:00+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__contact_details ADD COLUMN hits int(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEF.
2017-10-13T10:31:02+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__banners ADD COLUMN created_by int(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAU.
2017-10-13T10:31:06+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__banners ADD COLUMN created_by_alias varchar(255) NOT NULL DEF.
2017-10-13T10:31:08+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__banners ADD COLUMN modified datetime NOT NULL DEFAULT '0000-0.
2017-10-13T10:31:10+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__banners ADD COLUMN modified_by int(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFA.
2017-10-13T10:31:13+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__banners ADD COLUMN version int(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT .
2017-10-13T10:31:18+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__categories ADD COLUMN version int(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAU.
2017-10-13T10:31:18+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: UPDATE #__assets SET name=REPLACE( name, 'com_user.notes.category','com_users.
2017-10-13T10:31:18+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: UPDATE #__categories SET extension=REPLACE( extension, 'com_user.notes.catego.
2017-10-13T10:31:21+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__finder_terms ADD COLUMN language char(3) NOT NULL DEFAULT '';.
2017-10-13T10:31:21+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__finder_tokens ADD COLUMN language char(3) NOT NULL DEFAULT ''.
2017-10-13T10:31:21+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: ALTER TABLE #__finder_tokens_aggregate ADD COLUMN language char(3) NOT NULL .
2017-10-13T10:31:21+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: INSERT INTO #__extensions (name, type, element, folder, client_id, .
2017-10-13T10:31:22+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: INSERT INTO #__template_styles (template, client_id, home, title, par. 2017-10-13T10:31:22+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: UPDATE#__template_stylesSET home = (CASE WHEN (SELECT count FROM (SELECT cou. 2017-10-13T10:31:22+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: UPDATE#__template_stylesSET home = 0 WHERE template = 'bluestork';. 2017-10-13T10:31:22+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: INSERT INTO#__extensions(extension_id,name,type,element,folder. 2017-10-13T10:31:23+00:00 INFO ::1 update Ran query from file 3.0.0. Query text: UPDATE#__update_sitesSET location = 'http://update.joomla.org/language/trans. 2017-10-13T10:31:46+00:00 INFO ::1 update Finalising installation.

@mbabker @wojsmol @brianteeman
Nothing wrong with the updates unless it uses commands that some databases (for whatever reason) wont process. Just tested on a live server FULL SUCCESS in less than 4 minutes.

• Installed 2.5.28 with sample data
• Set Update component options to 'short term' saved and closed
• Update screen presented me with 3.5.1 ... Installed FULL SUCCESS
• Update Component screen displayed with a success message
• Cleared cache and was presented with 3.6.5 ... Installed FULL SUCCESS
• Update Component screen displayed with a success message
• Cleared cache and was presented with 3.8.1 ... Installed FULL SUCCESS
• Update Component screen displayed with a success message
  (admin login was offered at some stage but cant remember at what point)

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PHP Built On Linux info 3.0 # 1337 SMP Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 CEST 2000 all GNU/Linux
Database Version 5.5.57-0+deb7u1-log
Database Collation utf8_general_ci
Database Connection Collation utf8mb4_general_ci
PHP Version 5.6.31
Web Server Apache
WebServer to PHP Interface cgi-fcgi
Joomla! Version Joomla! 3.8.1 Stable [ Amani ] 4-October-2017 14:00 GMT
Joomla! Platform Version Joomla Platform 13.1.0 Stable [ Curiosity ] 24-Apr-2013 00:00 GMT
User Agent Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:56.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/56.0