BuddyPress.org

By 2010 install, do you mean BuddyPress v1.2.x or older?

If so, you need to upgrade in stages.

Check out the “Upgrading BuddyPress” codex article for more details:
https://codex.buddypress.org/buddypress-site-administration/upgrading-buddypress/

I should note this is an arduous task that will probably require a lot of troubleshooting and debugging.

As always, you should test this on a development server and not on your live site.

@james_loudon – I was just re-reading your post and I think I know what you are experiencing.

Login to the WP dashboard and navigate to “Settings > Discussion”.

Scroll down to “Default Avatar” and select the avatar you want to use for members that do not have an uploaded avatar.

@ermito looks like it’s a theme issue – Salutation. To double-check, change to bp-default theme and check if issue is resolved. If it is, then contact Salutation theme author re updating to BP 1.6

I’ve seen a few issues with Salutation, I’m hoping they talk to us so we can find out if these issues are regressions in BuddyPress, or because something’s wrong in the theme.