Thread:Project:Support desk/Loss of sortable table functionality after MediaWiki 1.15 to 1.18 upgrade./reply

Possibly some sort of js error in your MediaWiki:Common.js is breaking sortable tables. Try totally removing it and then doing hard refresh. (Also check your web browsers js console to look for errors)

For the db error. You should run manual:Update.php any time you upgrade, or you'll get db errors.