newbie install help needed

Ok, so I heard about MODx from a friend and thought I would try it on a local install, but can’t get it working.
Here are my specs:

Win XP Pro SP2
PHP 5
mySQL 4.0.21-nt
IIS 5.1 - localhost
Apache 2.0.52 - localhost:8080
(all services were installed individually, not using XAMPP or something similar)

I am using Dreamweaver 8 for development.

Here is the problem (s) that I am having. I have extracted and copied the files into my wwwroot folder and when I attempt to run them, I keep getting an error with both IE and FF asking what to do with the PHP script. It won’t let me run it. This happens both when going directly to the file and when attempting a preview with Dreamweaver. I have abandoned the IIS issue for now just to get it running, but will need to figure this out later as my hosting service uses IIS.

I have transferred the files into Apache, and now it comes right up when previewing with no issues. However, when doing the install, I get to the Connection Information screen where it asks for the database login name, password, etc. and I’m not sure what to put there. I am an new user to mqSQL and I don’t know what I have setup for permissions, if anyone can help me or direct me to the proper place I would appreciate some knowledge or guidance in this area for getting it set up.

I am really needing help as the couple of sites I have so far would be great candidates for this CMS system, and it comes highly recommended!

Before you install, you must set up MySQL and a MySQL database.
create a user and password for yourself (or use the root account if you want, it is just a local testing server after all)
Create a new database for MODx to live in.

On the DB connection screen in the installer, your server will be localhost, username and password is the username and password you set up (if you are using the user ’root’, the password is probably blank unless you specifically set it. in the database field, you enter the name of the database you created for MODx.

-sD-
Dr. Scotty Delicious, Scientist.

I’d suggest using XAMPP, as this is definitely a server config issue and doesn’t really have anything to do with MODx. If you’re doing a local test install, why not make it as easy as possible on yourself?

MySQL has some great GUI tools that are free. You’ve got some install issues with MySQL though ... it’s either not completed or correct, or something, and beyond my abilities to offer advice. XAMPP makes it really easy and virtually automatic.

Quote from: ejcross at Dec 06, 2006, 10:48 AM

Ok, I will uninstall my PHP, mqSQL, and Apache services, and install XAMPP. I hope this works.

Now, once I get this running (fingers crossed) what services will my host need to install? He is running Win server 2003 with IIS and PHP is installed. I am assuming he will need to install mySQL also, correct?

Thanks for the help so far!

MODx runs best on a L.A.M.P. server, but people have it running on all sorts of servers. as of 0.9.5 MySQL is the only officially supported Database, and without a total over-hack of the core, MySQL is an absolute requirement. The last time I checked, you can run MODx on IIS, but friendly URLs would not work.

To get the best results with MODx, you may want to look into a host that can provide Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP.

-sD-
Dr. Scotty Delicious, Scientist.

Something you did previously is interfering with XAMPP it would seem. If at all possible I highly advocate running MODx under Apache, as it’s a lot easier to deal with and you’ll be able to get much better support here. I’ve only got one client with MODx running under IIS and it’s incredibly frustrating to say the least.

It seems like the MySQL daemon may still be running from your previous attempts at setting up a web environment. look into the running processes for something like "mysqld" and kill it. Also, check to see if you have any processes set to initiate on startup/login. If the MySQL daemon is in there, get rid of it. Reboot... and then start XAMPP.

-sD-
Dr. Scotty Delicious, Scientist.

MODx 1.0 will move to a "common core" where multiple websites can use the same core, but for now you must install modx in your site root or in a subfolder, and for each additional site, a new subfolder would be needed. you can use the same database with different db prefix. There is a hack in the forums here that allows subdomains (sub.yoursite.url) from one main installation, but you would have to search the forums for that.

I have multiple websites setup on my server with domain pointers pointing a domain name to a subfolder of my site. Each one of these folders has it’s own full modx installation.

-sD-
Dr. Scotty Delicious, Scientist.