Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
these prompts carefully; in most cases, you'll want to allow the installer to do what it
needs to do. Remember to follow the instructions of “Verifying Package Integrity with
MD5,” earlier in this chapter, to verify that you're running the correct installer program.
You need to unblock ports only if you want to allow connections to your server from
other hosts.
In this section, we'll look at three ways to install MySQL on a Windows system:
• System-wide, using a graphical installation package provided by MySQL AB
• Local, using a “no-install” package by MySQL AB
• System-wide, using the XAMPP integrated package
To install system-wide, you'll need to log in as a user with Windows administrator
privileges. The MySQL AB “no-install” package does not need to be installed using a
setup program and is handy for cases where you don't have administrator privileges on
the computer.
Installing Only MySQL Using Packages from MySQL AB
First, follow the instructions of “Downloading MySQL from the MySQL AB Web
Site,” earlier in this chapter, and download the package you need. If you are using
Windows XP and have administrator privileges, it's easiest if you download the “Win-
dows Essentials (x86)” package. This is small and has all the MySQL programs you
need. If you don't have administrator privileges on your Windows machine, or you
need to have a complex server setup with nonstandard configuration, you should
download the package labeled “Without installer (unzip in C:\).” We'll discuss how
to install each of these packages in the following sections.
Windows installation using the installer
Start the installer program and go with the default (typical) settings. This will install
MySQL in the
C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 5.0\
directory. Vista may ask
you to confirm whether you want to allow the installer to access your computer; click
Allow.
You might be prompted to sign up for a
mysql.com
account; you can skip this unless
you want to subscribe to MySQL newsletters, add comments to the online manual, or
file bug reports.
On the final screen of the installer program, you'll see the “Configure the MySQL Server
now” option selected. When you click the Finish button to exit the installer, the MySQL
Server Instance Configuration Wizard will start. Follow the prompts and select Stand-
ard Configuration to go with the default settings.
On the next screen, shown in Figure 2-10, select “Install as a Windows Service” (typ-
ically already selected by default) and “Include Bin Directory in Windows PATH”
(typically not already selected by default).
