Solved Installation process loops and won't stop

I have assisted other people with this problem before (as a professional private consultation, of course). You could, if you like, search the Joomla site for discussion topics that deal with autoupdate failures and matters that affect the _assets table. My recollection of this was that Elin Waring posted something on the Joomla forum in the last couple of years about the issue but, as I wrote before, my recollection is a little hazy.

Would you be interested in engaging me to research this matter further for you? I won't be offended in the least if you're not interested in the professional consultation services that I offer outside this site; that's entirely a matter for you.

Good luck. I'm sure that, with a bit of patience and some skill, the answer will reveal itself in time.

I don't really have too many comments to make about Wordpress - my comments would be off-topic and unproductive as far as your current issues are concerned - except to say that people should use whatever approach suits their particular needs. If that approach involves the use of Wordpress-plus-bbPress, Drupal (which has a forum module built into its core), phpBB (as a standalone forum product) or Joomla-plus-Kunena then I say good luck and every success to you.

Thank you! (for the offer and everything...)

Like you, I am a roll up your sleeves kind of guy -- like to dig in and fix things myself --

So...

Found an asset table repair hack in the joomla forum -- ATTACHED FILE

Ran that -- and it fixed a LOT of stuff.
Cleaned my menu set up.
UPLOADED Kunena to the latest from 3.03
And it looped around 7 - 9 times but finally came to its senses and stuck.
All good now -- might not be the solution for everyone but it is at least a great
place to start!

Many thanks again!

I knew the discussion about Joomla extension autoupdate failures cause (and cure) was there (in the Joomla forum) somewhere. I am thankful that you found it and shared your findings with the rest of the community. Your findings may well help someone else.

The important lessons from this discussion are:

1. The Joomla autoupdate procedure sometimes fails.
2. When the Joomla autoupdate procedure fails it can corrupt the integrity of your website and prevent you from later upgrading Joomla extensions that you may have installed.
3. To overcome the likelihood that the Joomla autoupdate procedure may fail, part-way through its operation and leaving your site in a mess in future, you should always have a standby backup available just in case. You may need to revert to your backup.
4. The Joomla autoupdate process is "simple" - that is to say, it assumes that nothing will go wrong. When it does go wrong, you may or may not get any information that informs you of its success or failure. The Joomla autoupdate feature "hopes for the best" - but you should always be on the alert for the worst.
5. If the Joomla autoupdate process does fail, for some reason, and you don't have a site backup, then you need to explore other options to discover the thing that prevents the normal Joomla Extension Manager from being able to upgrade the Joomla extensions you use. One such way of exploring these things is to participate in the Joomla forum on a regular basis. Another way is to search the internet.
6. When all else fails, there are professional consultants who can do the heavy job of repairing your website - and do it quickly - for a very reasonable fee.
7. Joomla is not perfect.
8. Kunena is not perfect either (but the guys are doing the best that they can)!

I am committed to spending more time in the forums "giving back..."

Because this forum (and the mother ship forum over at Joomla...)
certainly has done a lot of hand holding for me.

And when/if I need some professional help, you sir, will be one of the 1st ones that I look to.

If you do not mind, pop over to my blog at coffee DOT bc DOT ca
and send me an e-mail with your contact info...

Many thanks -- Colin in Canada