Joomla 3.5 RC2 has been released. The new version will have lots of new features and improvements and from now, you can upgrade your site to 3.5.0-rc2 to test if your site works properly with the Joomla version.
Upgrade your Joomla site to Joomla 3.5 RC for testing
Please note that, the upgrade should be implemented for the backup of your site, Never do it for your live site.
Steps to upgrade your site to Joomla 3.5.0-rc2
Step 1: Create full backup of your site
There are lots of ways to create full backup of your site, we recommend to use Akeeba Backup component. It is FREE extension, download it and install to your site.
Go to: Components → Akeeba Backup, by default, the backup type is set to Full Site Backup. You can check the setting in the Components » Akeeba Backup » Configuration.
Hit the Backup Now button and backup your site. This step could take some moment depending on your site size.
Backup Joomla site with Akeeba backup component
For more info, please refer to the Akeeba Backup documentation.
Once the backup is done, go to Manage Backups to download the backup file, paste it to a folder in wamp server.
Download backup file to local
The backup file is stored in the folder: administrator\components\com_akeeba\backup.
Step 2: restore the backup in local
Download the Akeeba Kickstart version 4.1.4, extract it to the folder you placed the full site backup.
Download Akeeba Kickstart
Run the kickstart.php file by accessing the url of the site in local, for example: http://localhost/other/moviemax/kickstart.php. Follow the wizard to restore the backup.
Restore Joomla Backup
Step 3: Upgrade to Joomla 3.5.0-rc2
Go to the site administrator » Components » Joomla! Update and hit the Options button in the top right corner and set the Update Channel field to Testing.
Configure Joomla Update option
Back to the Joomla! Update page and you will see the notification of Joomla 3.5.0-rc2 update. Select the "Write files directly" and install the update. The process could take some moment depending on your Internet connection.
Upgrade to Joomla 3.5 RC2
The upgrade is done. You can check your site around to see if there is any issue.
The upgrade process is done.