Update core (option 3)

Before you begin

If not already done, it is suggested to read this Introduction. Which summarized all your options to choose from when updating your Drupal 7.

Update Drupal 7 core

1. Make a backup of your Drupal instance (database). (For example: with MySQL)
2. Download the latest release of your current Drupal version.
3. Extract the [tar ball or zip] Drupal package.
4. Set your site on maintenance mode (For ex: How on D7)
5. Delete all the files & folders inside your original Drupal instance except for sites/ and its sub-folders. This assumes that all of your custom work - including themes - is in the recommended spot: the sites/ folder tree. If you have made custom changes elsewhere you will need to either preserve them or plan to replace them later. Warning: If your Drupal installation is built from a distribution your site will break if you delete the profiles/ folder. Don't delete the profile folder that corresponds to the distribution you installed, for example profiles/kickstart/ if you installed Drupal Commerce Kickstart.
6. Copy all the folders and files except sites/ from inside the extracted Drupal package [tar ball or zip package] into your original Drupal instance location.
7. Some updates do not include changes to setting.php and some do. If the update release includes changes to settings.php you will need to replace your old settings.php in sites/default/ with the new one, and then edit the site-specific entries (e.g. database name, user, and password) in the setting file.
8. If you have modified files such as .htaccess or robots.txt re-apply those changes to the new files.
9. If you have a favicon.ico file that was deleted replace it too
10. Login to your site as administrator or as user no 1
11. Run update.php by navigating to http://yourdrupalsitename/update.php and follow the process to update your Drupal instance
12. Disable maintenance mode

Troubleshooting

• If you experience problems during your site upgrade, see the Troubleshooting FAQ.
• Instead of commenting here, please read the module project page and, if necessary, post an issue or post a message in the forums.