I need to pick the brain of someone who knows how to set up forums / MySQL / etc.

[Simon Strange]

I have questions, and I don't seem to know anyone local who can really talk with me about these subjects.

I have the "Dual Basic Windows" hosting package through 1and1.com. I'm updating my website, and I want to integrate a good forum package - I have some money to spend on it, if necessary. XenForo seems really great, but it requires MySQLi - and 1and1 only provides MSSQL on my package. I could convert to a linux package which supports MySQL - but that means losing a year's worth of data / e-mail / etc.

I don't know what to do. Should I suck it up, backup my data, and switch to the linux package? Will that work? Are there other potential difficulties regarding XenForo installation on 1and1 that I could anticipate? Is there an equally good forum package I could use instead?

HELP ME! (I do have a budget for this task, so I'm very willing to pay a modest amount for someone who can help me get the job done well.)

[Arch649]

I'd go with PHPbb for forum software. It supports both MySQL and MSSQL.