Trouble upgrading

Alex

When upgrading from version 1.9 to the latest, I get the following error message:

Fatal error: Call to undefined function: new_smarty() in /home/sites/site44/web/amember/admin/upgrade_db.php on line 20

I get a similar error when I try to enter the admin area.

After having this problem, I determined I couldn't be offline for very long, so I reinstalled the old version by reuploading the backup I had done.

I tried upgrading again and then got the same error message and once again downgraded back.

Before I try again, do you have any suggestions? I think I followed the directions exactly as written -- I uploaded all files in binary on top of the old installation.

thanks

Bill