How to Upgrade DocuWare Correctly

General information:
DocuWare can be installed in so many variations and environments, therefore, there is no set procedural instructions in how to do an upgrade. However, we have compiled some information that is essential before performing an upgrade in a DocuWare system.
DocuWare upgrades are not part of the standard support, therefore, if you want us (DocuWare Support Department) to perform an upgrade for you we will do this a Professional Service task for a fee.

You'll find the Upgrade-Path, how to get from your current DocuWare Version to the desired one here:

• Upgrade path chart

Recommended steps and notes regarding the upgrade of DocuWare:

• If necessary, download the desired DocuWare Version. The download link can be obtained from docuware.com once you login to the site. We suggest that you use a download manager to avoid interruptions during the download, e.g. http://www.freedownloadmanager.org/
• Make sure the zip file is not blocked: Unblock Blocked DocuWare Setup Files
• Once the software is downloaded please extract it to a folder on a local drive (not Desktop or My Documents).
• Download the DocuWare license for the proper version of DocuWare.
• Check the notes from the article Known Issues when installing and upgrading DocuWare
• Check the system requirements of the proper version of DocuWare
  System requirements (5.1c-6.1)
  System requirements (6.5) 
  System requirements (6.6)
  System requirements (6.7)
  System requirements (6.8)
  System requirements (6.9)
  System requirements (6.10)
  System requirements (6.11)
  System requirements (6.12)
• Windows updates have to be installed before installing DocuWare. The latest version of DocuWare is always tested with the latest Windows updates.  
• Silverlight and .NET Framework has to be installed. Check the required versions in the system requirements.
• Check WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) service and make sure that it is working. This is the service that will interact with windows installer to provide environmental information about the machine.
  Repair Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) 
• Windows User Account Control (UAC) and DEP (Data Execution Prevention) might be disabled. Sometimes they cause issues when installing DocuWare.
• Ensure Internet Information Services (IIS) is installed and all necessary components are enabled.
  You'll find the required components in the system requirements
• You will need the credentials (user-name/passwords) for 3 accounts to be able to upgrade the current system:
  • Database (user/password):
    You will need this account to access the database to take backups and some of the new services will ask for this information during the upgrade.
  • Windows Account (user/password):
    You need this information to be able to install new DocuWare services. This account has to have local administrative right; however, it could be a domain account or a local account.
  • DocuWare Account (user/password):
    You need this account to upgrade the current system. Only DocuWare system and organization administrator users can modify the system.
• Open the DocuWare administration tool and check following items and make sure that they are accessible and valid. If you have an orphaned configuration, reconfigure it or delete it.
  • Database connection. Keep in mind that the user that is assigned to this database connection has to be the owner of the database in MSSQL. If you are using MySQL then it should be fine.
  • Check the Storage Location for images
  • Check the External Directory connection
  • Check the baskets in the administration tool
  • Check the select lists
  • Check stamps
  • Check File Connections
• If fulltext is activated in DocuWare version 5.1b, deactivate it before you are doing the upgrade to 5.1c SP1. After upgrading to the target version the fulltext indexes have to be created again.
• If DocuWare is installed under MSSQL 
  • Make sure that your transaction log file is not bigger that your database. If you have not done any database maintenance, then your transaction log file may be larger than your data file.  You may have to run a shrink command first: How to shrink the transaction log
  • If you are using a MSSQL database with replication or mirroring, please turn them off before upgrading DocuWare. They may prevent a required update of the database.
• Take a backup of all DocuWare databases, they are usually named with prefix dwxxxx.
  • In MySQL you can use the MySQL Administration tool, select all DocuWare databases and create a backup file
  • In MSSQL you can use SQL Server Management Studio, select individual databases and created multiple backup files (for each database).
  • In Oracle you can ask the DBA to take a backup of the schema where DocuWare objects are located.
• Find the user that is connecting to the database under DWAuthenticationServer.exe.settings.  It should be located under <Connection> tag towards the bottom of the file. This user has to be the owner of the DocuWare databases in MSSQL (if you are using MSSQL). In MySQL it should be fine but make sure it is accessible.
• Make sure the windows user login in the machine has rights to install application/programs. In particular, when using Remote Desktop, be sure to attach to the console of the server:
  Start > Run > MSTSC  /console
  Running a remote desktop session as a normal user can be a serious point in software installation problems.
• The DocuWare server may require a reboot. You or the customer has to be willing to restart the machine when DocuWare installation requests a restart.
• Ensure that the ports which are used by DocuWare are available. Some DocuWare ports can be changed during the installation, however we recommend keeping the default ports, see Ports used by DocuWare
• Again, make sure that you have a full database back up before commencing your upgrade. If you are running in a virtual machine environment, you can also take a snapshot of the virtual machine before trying to upgrade.
• Please Note! In a production environment you must also be sure to have sufficient backups of the Server Environment. If there are problems encountered that are so severe that the upgrade cannot proceed, you may need to restore back to the original system state prior to starting the upgrade. While this is simple enough in a virtual environment with a snapshot, it is a far more serious exercise with a physical machine. Consult the customers IT department on the status of bare-metal restore ability BEFORE starting the upgrade.
• (Optional) You could also create a replica of your live system into a Virtual Environment or another server and test the upgrade. To replicate the system, you will only need the database backups and not images (documents). Look at this article How to move a DocuWare System - Part 2​
• (Old legacy application settings location) Some other items that are local to the client machine will not be changed during an upgrade but if you want to back them up anyway these are the locations:
  • ACTIVE-IMPORT configurations are usually located in the registry under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\DocuWare\ActiveImport, just export this registry key.
  • TIFFMAKER settings are also stored in the registry but they are linked to Windows printer driver and other settings. You could try backing up these keys from the registry, but they may not work if your intent is try to migrate to a new server. The keys are located under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFWTARE\DocuWare\TIFFMAKER 

Troubleshooting Guide

• Setup log files are located in %temp% or %ALLUSERSRPROFILE%
• If DocuWare services are not starting you can check the Windows Event Viewer under Application logs and see if there is errors (clues).  
• To check the ports currently being used in that machine use the command: NETSTAT –ANO > C:\TEMP\PORTS.TXT . This will generate a text file with a list of ports been used in that machine.
• Windows Firewall and antivirus may cause issues.
• Some operating systems tend to place a “locked” attribute in the zip file where it copied or moved between machines, therefore, when you extract all files the “protected” or “locked” attribute is set on each file. Remove the locked or protected attribute from the zip file first before extracting. - KBA-35001
  If all fails, then you may have to install a clean copy of DocuWare and the use the upgrader tool to upgrade the database manually. Please contact DocuWare Support Department for advice before proceeding further.
• Hotfix Installation Instructions - up to DocuWare 6.11​ - KBA-35685
• HotfixPack installation instructions - since DocuWare 6.12 - KBA-36047​
• A DocuWare Service will not start. What do I do first? - KBA-35692
• Why after upgrade to 6.9 my database restore fails? - KBA-35656
• Why Content Server Upgrader Tool times out in some instances? - KBA-35590
• How to change / alter database port DocuWare system - KBA-35694