Hosting Question!?

Human Torch · 16 Jan 2006 at 20:40

My domain name is up for renewal next month, to cut a long story short, they company that hosts it got taken over, and it went totally down hill.

Anyway, what will happen to the name when its date passes. I have a few options from what I can see. I definately dont want to Host with these people, so I take it I can renew the name with them then host it somewhere else and 'point' to the name.

How easy is this to do!?

Also, Can someone please recommend to me a good host, it is purley going to be a forum board, so MySQL (or similar as the board is VB) needs to be included in the package.

Thanks

HT

Burbleflop · 16 Jan 2006 at 20:49

Moving hosting is usually easy enough. Do you have control of your domain name? Can you change the DNS servers it lives on? If you can, then it is just a case of signing up with a new hosting company and pointing your domain to the DNS servers they give you.

If your domain is controlled by a third party (your current hosts for example) then you'll have to talk to them and give them the IP addresses of the new DNS servers.

As for hosting company recommendations, I can't help you there - I host all my domains myself.

Jotun · 16 Jan 2006 at 21:10

For good hosts, look here

Adz · 16 Jan 2006 at 21:11

If the domain is in your name, you can move it elsewhere even if your host is uncooperative. You should move it away *before* it expires though then renew with your new registrar. It often makes a lot of sense to hold your domain with a 3rd party registrar rather than your hosting provider to give you an easy means of escape should you have similar problems in future.

Hosting reviews @ www.ochostreview.co.uk

(Edit: Beaten to it!)

Human Torch · 16 Jan 2006 at 21:20

I thought someone on here had a hosting company, TSO host or something wasnt it!?

I can alter the DNS, but how do I move the domain name now!?

zetec452 · 16 Jan 2006 at 21:22

If it is a .uk address you need to instruct your registrar to change the IPS TAG to your new registrar. If its a .com etc then you need to give them the full company details of your new registrar and instruct your new registrar that your transferring a domain to them.

Adz · 16 Jan 2006 at 21:23

Human Torch said:
I thought someone on here had a hosting company, TSO host or something wasnt it!?

I can alter the DNS, but how do I move the domain name now!?

Lots of people on this forum are involved with hosting companies.

To transfer the domain, you first need to find a domain registrar that you like the look of (they're all much of a muchness, you should be fine with 123-reg.co.uk). You then follow their standard 'transfer in' procedures. Once the domain is with your choice of registrar, you can use their control panel to update the nameservers to those provided by your new host.

If your old host won't play ball which is occasionally the case, drop me an email and I'll give you a hand recovering the domain.

Human Torch · 16 Jan 2006 at 21:36

its a .org address, will that matter? Thanks

Adz · 16 Jan 2006 at 21:39

Process is slightly different but the registrar you are moving to will instruct you how to go about it. You'll add a year to the registration at the same time

.

zetec452 · 16 Jan 2006 at 21:41

If you want a nice registrar to help you out then i'd recommend www.registron.co.uk

Burbleflop · 16 Jan 2006 at 21:45

Irrespective of the TLD, I wouldn't transfer the domain to a hosting company - as long as they give you the IP addresses of their DNS servers it isn't necessary. I keep all my domains in my name and under my control.

Human Torch · 16 Jan 2006 at 21:46

It says 'ask the current TAG holder' (I assume thats my current host) to change the TAG to 123-REG. How!? Sorry, i'm really confused by all this, first time and all that! :S

Human Torch · 16 Jan 2006 at 21:47

burbleflop said:
I keep all my domains in my name and under my control.

How do you mean!? They must be registered with someone arent they!?

Beansprout · 16 Jan 2006 at 21:49

When you sign up for hosting, if the host includes a domain name, specify that you have your own or that you want to transfer it (the host may charge for a transfer - some do, some don't).

Does the *domain* need renewing or just the hosting? If the domain is separate from the hosting then you only need to update the namservers to point to the new host. And then when the *domain* is up for renewal you can manage that through the registrar's control panel.

You may find a host who include a free domain transfer though, which would transfer the domain to their registrar and also extend the registration by a year.

Whatever you do, ensure the domain is renewed before the expiry date or there's hefty fees to pull it back

(Don't renew your domains at 23:59 like I have done before....)

Adz · 16 Jan 2006 at 21:49

Human Torch said:
It says 'ask the current TAG holder' (I assume thats my current host) to change the TAG to 123-REG. How!? Sorry, i'm really confused by all this, first time and all that! :S

That's for a .uk. The GTLD transfer process is slightly different and is registrar initiated. Instructions should be on the 123-reg site somewhere.

How do you mean!? They must be registered with someone arent they!?

I assume he means they are with an independent registrar as I have suggested. There are individuals/organisations with their own Nominet memberships, even their own ICANN memberships but it's somewhat overkill for a handful of personal domains

.

Human Torch · 16 Jan 2006 at 22:17

Ok, the hosting is long expired, but the domain is due to expire mid Feb. I can DNS to it, as I used to test the database from an Apache server running from my home PC.

So, with this in mind, I can leave the domain where it is, obtain hosting space from someone else and just DNS to the domain!?

Good hosting packages that offer MySQL or shall I look through Evil Penguins link!?

Thanks so far guys

Beansprout · 16 Jan 2006 at 22:20

Correct

Pretty much all general hosting packages will offer MySQL. Go check out www.ochostreview.co.uk

Adz · 16 Jan 2006 at 22:26

Ah, you gave the impression that your domain was registered with your hosting provider. In that case, pretty much everything I've said above is useless.

Just do as you said, find your new host and update the DNS servers.

Human Torch · 17 Jan 2006 at 00:03

Hold on, I'm confised now. My hosting and domain are with the same provider. But the hosting expired back in September and the domain is due to expire in mid Feb. But the two are seperate, and I do know that I can DNS to the domain from another host.

Is this still as above? Find new host and update DNS?

Thanks

Adz · 17 Jan 2006 at 00:07

Who is the host?