Now that all the prerequisites have been met, let's start the installation process:
phpBB2
. phpBB2
directory as-is to the remote server. You can do this easily using an FTP program to connect to your server and transfer the files. phpBB2
directory and its contents to your web root and install without any modifications, your forums will be available at http://www.yourdomain.com/phpBB2. phpBB2
directory to something you like, say forum
. In this case, your community will be located at http://www.yourdomain.com/forum. phpBB2
directory in your (sub)domain's web root, which is not the phpBB2
directory itself, but the files and directories that are contained within it.For the purposes of this chapter, we'll go with the second option,http://www.yourdomain.com/forum, as it is probably the most common one.
config.php:
You need to change the permissions for this file so that it's writable by phpBB during the installation. Go to the main directory where phpBB is installed and find the file called config.php
. Change the file permissions so that it's writable by the phpBB installer scripts, or in other words, on Linux systems, chmod
it to 666
(or -rw-rw-rw-
). On Linux/Unix systems, chmod
is a command that means "change mode", and is used to adjust file permissions. File permissions specify who can do what to a particular file. Your options to change a file's mode include: chmod 666 config.php
. This will do. config.php
file on your system and then FTP-ing the file, overwriting the one already in the phpBB root.You should see a screen like the one that follows.
Option |
Setting |
---|---|
Default board language |
Since you haven't installed additional languages yet, English is the only option. Later on if you decide to use other languages, you can always change this setting. |
Database Type |
The database system you'll be using, most likely MySQL 4.x or MySQL 3.x |
Choose your installation method |
Install or Upgrade. Go with Install, since you have no previous phpBB installation. |
Database Server Hostname / DSN |
Usually localhost; refer to your checklist. |
Your Database Name |
Refer to your checklist. |
Database Username |
Refer to your checklist. |
Database Password |
Refer to your checklist again. |
Prefix for tables in database |
phpbb_ is the default value. After the installation, all tables in the database to do with phpBB will have this prefix in their name, such as phpbb_users, and phpbb_posts. It's not compulsory to use a prefix, but it's a nice way to tell your phpBB tables from all the rest, in case you have other non-phpBB tables in the same database. This also allows you, for example, to have two or more distinct phpBB installations that share the same database; you just need to use a different prefix for each installation. Don't use spaces in this prefix, otherwise the installer will return an error. It's a good idea to leave the default phpbb_ value for the prefix, if you don't have a reason to change it. Most of the phpBB modifications that you may want to install later on will assume this prefix. |
Admin Email Address |
Your email address. It will be used, for example, as a sender email address when phpBB notifies a user about a new private message. So a good idea is to supply a working email address that you check often. An email that represents your board, like |
Domain Name |
Your domain's name. The phpBB installation will probably figure it out, otherwise type it in yourself. |
Server Port |
The default is 80. Normally you don't need to change this value. |
Script path |
The relative path to your installation. Normally the phpBB installer will guess it properly and you wouldn't have to change it. |
Administrator Username |
The administrator username is an important one. There is no default, but using Administrator is a common choice. |
Administrator Password |
Choose it wisely and make it difficult to guess. This option cannot be left blank. |
This troubleshooting guide is not a comprehensive list; it just contains some common problems that phpBB users have. If your problem is not listed here, see the last section of this chapter for guidelines on how to look for help.
Error message: Your config file is un-writeable at present.
For some reason, step 5 of the install steps listed above was not completed. Read the description of step 5 again, but only if you need more background information on the nature of the error. Otherwise just see the solution that follows.
The phpBB installer itself will recover from this situation. Just follow the instructions on the screen.
You are given the option of downloading the config.php
file the installer tried to write. Download the file, and then copy/FTP it, overwriting the config.php
file that is already in the phpBB root directory.
Alternatively, you are also given the option of using the installer to FTP the file for you, provided that your version of PHP supports FTP-ing (most likely). If you want to use this option, you'll have to enter the data you normally use to connect to the server with your desktop FTP client (CuteFTP, SmartFTP, etc.). Be sure to enter the full path to where the phpBB installer can copy the config.php
file. The full path is the same as that visible in your FTP client. In other words, the phpBB installer is trying to act as an FTP client for you.
Error message: Could not connect to the database.
There can be several reasons for this message:
Error message: The passwords you entered did not match.
This refers to the administrator password and the password confirmation you've entered at the very end of the installer form, under Admin configuration.
Error message: The PHP configuration on your server doesn't support the database type that you chose.
PHP actually supports the database system you want to use, but you didn't select it from the installer form's database type field.
Exactly as the message says, your PHP installation doesn't support the selected database system.
Error message: An error occurred trying to update the database Table ‘phpbb_auth_access' already exists.
Here phpbb_ is the table prefix you've typed in the installer form.
Although very unlikely, it may happen that in your database you have a table totally unrelated to phpBB, having the same name as a phpBB table.
If you want to keep the existing installation, go back to the installer form and simply choose a different prefix. This way you're resolving the naming conflict and you'll have two phpBB installations, which use the same database.
If you don't want to keep the existing installation—for example, it was a failed installation—you have to remove all database tables created by the previous installation. Which tables to remove? You can tell by their prefix. Use the friendly phpMyAdmin to remove those tables, or if you can't use it, connect to MySQL on the command prompt as
described earlier in this chapter, and delete the tables manually. To do so, you need to use the DROP TABLE
syntax, which is actually very simple but also a bit dangerous because it deletes a whole database table and its contents permanently.
u forums
, where forums
is the name of your database. SHOW TABLES
; and then delete them one by one using DROP TABLE table_name_here
;.Alternatively if you're sure there are no tables that you need in this database—that there's nothing but some no-good phpBB tables from a failed installation—you can do it in one shot: after connecting to MySQL, type DROP DATABASE forums
;.
This will delete the whole database. Permanently! So be careful. You need to recreate it again for the next installation.
Deleting tables and databases is a one-way process, meaning you can't go back. So think twice before you delete anything. Think about taking backups when you're in doubt before destroying some tables.
Here's a MySQL query that allows you to quickly back up a table:
CREATE TABLE ‘new_table_name'
SELECT * FROM ‘table_to_back_up'
;
This will create a new table, called new_table_name
in the same current database, and the new table will have the same structure and content as the table named table_to_back_up
.
If you want to back up a table in a different database, you can use:
CREATE TABLE ‘new_database'.'new_table_name'
SELECT * FROM ‘source_database'.'table_to_back_up'
;
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