So if like one of our clients, you failed to upgrade your Beta 2 Tech Refresh MOSS to the RTM version you might find this useful.
- The first step is to get the B2TR site functioning again. The MOSS expiration cut off can be tricked by winding back the clock on the server. You might want to communicate with the Infrastructure team about this, and they will likely have some gripes but it is only temporary. After you have set the clock back test the site and make sure it works. You should upgrade MOSS immediately. Do NOT just wind the clock back for a year!
- Stop the Windows Timer Service on the server. Otherwise in a couple of hours (probably mid upgrade) the clock will update to the current time. This can be stopped from the services snap-in in administrative tools. It is called Timer Service
- Now that the B2TR site is up and running you can perform the upgrade to the RTM version. There are a couple of guides to follow which are accurate and straight forward to follow. Either the Microsoft Guide, or Shane Young's Guide will work. There is also a web cast that demonstrates the process from Bob Fox. I think the most important thing is to backup you're servers before upgrading. The technology wizard can take quite a while to run depending on the sizes of your content databases. So plan for a few hours of outage.
- Now it's just a matter of testing to make sure everything works – I would focus on search and any customisations. It should all be fine as the databases and web applications haven't really changed.
- If everything works out ok you can set the time back to the current time and turn the Time service back on.
Good luck!