Converting from MySQL to WordPress Import

I have a WordPress blog on a hosting service other than wordpress.com, using WordPress 2.7. The problem is that it has stopped working and the host providers have no idea why. They’ve given me steps to uninstall 2.7, reinstall it, then upgrade to 3.6.1, which they also offer. The problem is these steps don’t work, so I’m left with a non-working blog.

I want to save my data and move to WordPress.com, since that will eliminate the problem of dealing with upgrading the software on my own and so on.

The problem is I do not have any way to export a WordPress Export File in XML.

What I do have is full command line access to MySQL and the WordPress database in MySQL, so I can make backup files of the entire database with all the tables in it.

But there is no way, on WordPress.com, to import any MySQL files.

I’m having trouble finding any information on converting a MySQL database to an XML WordPress Export File. If there are simple rules for it, I can easily write a Perl script or two to do it.

Just to be clear: The only way I can get to the data on my old blog is through an ssh account that lets me access the MySQL databases through the mysql command. This means I can pull the data from that blog in, essentially, any format MySQL can produce. But once I export it, I have no way to import it, in that format, to my blog at WordPress.com.

How can I convert my databases for WordPress 2.7 to something I can import on my new blog location at WordPress.com? I have been searching and can’t find anything on this conversion and am also having trouble finding the specs for an XML WordPress Export File.