Update Unmodified Drupal Software Installed with Softaculous/Fantastico

By Lynn Beighley and Seamus Bellamy from Drupal For Dummies, 2nd Edition

If your Drupal software was originally installed using Softaculous or Fantastico and you haven't modified it by installing any contributed modules or themes, update your software using this scenario. Because you haven't installed any additional modules, Softaculous or Fantastico can easily update your site for you.

There is often a delay between when a new Drupal update comes out and when Softaculous or Fantastico can upgrade for you. You may have to wait a few days and check periodically.

To find out whether you can upgrade, visit the control panel on your web host and click Softaculous or Fantastico. If you can update your Drupal installation, you’ll see a message to that effect.

After you click the Update link, you’ll see this message:

If you have modified the files, languages, themes, or if you have added any third-party modifications to this installation of Drupal, it is possible that you may need to re-install your themes and/or reapply your custom changes after using Fantastico to upgrade. we take no responsibility for the integrity of custom modified installations after Fantastico upgrades them.

Make your own backup of your database and script directory before proceeding — even though Fantastico will make one automatically before upgrading.

Softaculous or Fantastico will work well if you haven't done much with your site. After you begin customizing things, however, Softaculous or Fantastico may not be able to restore a previous state after you make changes. For this reason, you need to back up your database.