I am unable to install bbPress. I upload the files to my Web server (into a directory named /bbpress/) then browse to that directory. The page comes up as expected, telling me that I have no bb-config.php. When I click the “let’s get started” link, the following address appears in my address bar:

http://<host name>/bbpress/bb-admin/install.php?step=1

But instead of the database configuration form, the page appears not to change. That is, I just see the “missing bb-config.php, click here to get started” page again.

Nothing of obvious interest appears in my Apache error log. Here’s all I get:

[Mon Jan 12 15:22:19 2009] [error] [client <IP redacted>] PHP Notice: Undefined index: language in <web root redacted>/bbpress/bb-admin/class-install.php on line 337, referer: http://<host name>/bbpress/bb-admin/install.php?step=1

[Mon Jan 12 15:22:19 2009] [error] [client <IP redacted>] PHP Notice: Undefined variable: l10n in <web root redacted>/bbpress/bb-admin/install.php on line 29, referer: http://<host name>/bbpress/bb-admin/install.php?step=1

[Mon Jan 12 15:22:19 2009] [error] [client <IP redacted>] Symbolic link not allowed or link target not accessible: <web root redacted>/www/favicon.ico, referer: <host name>/bbpress/bb-admin/install.php?step=1

I thought it was a problem with 0.9.0.4, so I tried using 0.9.0.3 instead. No luck.

I tried on a second Web server and the installation worked there. Both servers are running Apache 2.x, PHP 5.x, and MySQL 5.x on FreeBSD. Here are the differences in the version numbers:

Server where it doesn’t work:

FreeBSD 6.3-STABLE

Apache 2.2.8

PHP 5.2.8

MySQL server 5.0.51a

Server where it does work:

FreeBSD 6.0-RELEASE

Apache 2.1.9

PHP 5.2.8

MySQL 5.0.27

The two servers’ Apache configurations are very similar, if not identical. Before I start comparing my httpd.conf files line by line, perhaps someone can point me in the right direction. Any suggestions or clues?

[@hoppie Member 15 years, 11 months ago]

I have no clue whether this will help you, and I guess not. But who knows.

I was also stuck with a stubborn refusal of the installer to progress beyond the very first page (zero). No error message, no nothing. Just would not advance.

After removing all stuff and retrying, and failing again, and making all kinds of increasingly desperate Unix file permission changes, I suddenly remembered that I had just installed MySQL for the first time (I am a PostgreSQL guy). Although the server and client work perfectly, I didn’t install the PHP5 libraries for it! Duh..

$ sudo apt-get install php5-mysql

$ sudo invoke-rc.d apache2 reload

et voila…

Hint to bbPress developers: add that silly check for the MySQL PHP lib… easily done, and another problem solved.

Jeroen

[@wwc Member 15 years, 11 months ago]

Hmm, it doesn’t look like I have the PHP MySQL libraries installed. I would expect that to generate a meaningful error message, but perhaps not. I’ve asked my administrator to install the libraries, and I’ll let you know if it helps.

Thank you for the suggestion.

[@wwc Member 15 years, 11 months ago]

Thanks, hoppie, everything works now! I found some code in bbPress that looks like it’s meant to warn users when the PHP MySQL libraries are missing, but I wasn’t getting the warning message. I’ll look into filing a bug report about this.

[@dti Member 15 years, 9 months ago]

I can’t pass step 1 , same yours.

After using the suggestion commands:

$ sudo apt-get install php5-mysql

I got a message about, ” sudo: apt-get: command not found”

$ sudo invoke-rc.d apache2 reload

I got a message about, ” sudo: invoke-rc: command not found”

I use CentOS 5 Linux

MySQL 5.0.45

PHP 5.1.6

Apache

in my server.

What’s wrong for me? Please give some helps, I take three days to install and still can’t solved it.

[@chrishajer Participant 15 years, 9 months ago]

On CentOS, you probably want rpm or the yum front end to it. Try this:

yum install php5-mysql

Maybe you need sudo in front of that command, depending on your system configuration. In that case sudo yum install php5-mysql.

That should install the package for you on CentOS.

http://www.centos.org/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=49482&topic_id=14408

[@chrishajer Participant 15 years, 9 months ago]

For reloading Apache after installing php5-mysql, you might end up doing this on CentOS:

sudo /sbin/service apache2 restart

or

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

or even

sudo /usr/sbin/apache2ctl graceful

One of those should restart the apache2 daemon.

[@dti Member 15 years, 9 months ago]

Thanks, Chrishajer. I followed your suggestion to install the php-mysql, but it was already installed.

And I use sudo /sbin/service apache2 restart etc. commands to restart Apache, it prompts: command not found.

So I use: /sbin/service httpd restart to restart Apache.

But I still stuck on the step 1. Could you give me more help?

[@dti Member 15 years, 9 months ago]

I don’t like to take time to stuck step 1.

1. Can I create a database by myself?

2. To edit the bb-config-sample.php file using this database name, username and password.

3. To change the name of bb-config-sample.php into bb-config.php .

4. Does it get more problems in future when I do above steps?

5. Can I use localhost in host name? ( http://localhost/mrm/forum_bam/bb-admin/install.php)

Please …

[@sambauers Participant 15 years, 9 months ago]

You can safely create your own config by copying from bb-config-sample.php

You then ned to go back and complete the installation (which bbPress forces you to do).

Probably better to use your IP address or 127.0.0.1 as the hostname, but this is highly dependent on your Apache config.

[@dti Member 15 years, 9 months ago]

But after renamed the bb-config-sample.php into bb-config.php, I got a prompting “An invalid configuration file was found at bb-config.php the installation cannot continue.”

Why does this installation is difficulty in my computer? Still to stuck installation step 1.

[@chrishajer Participant 15 years, 9 months ago]

> 1. Can I create a database by myself?

Yes, you need to actually.

> 2. To edit the bb-config-sample.php file using this database name,

> username and password.

Yes.

> 3. To change the name of bb-config-sample.php into bb-config.php .

Yes.

> 4. Does it get more problems in future when I do above steps?

No.

> 5. Can I use localhost in host name?

> ( http://localhost/mrm/forum_bam/bb-admin/install.php)

I think so. I thought sometimes you need to do localhost.localdomain but I can’t recall when that was the case.

If you are going to copy over the bb-config-sample.php to bb-config.php, you need to insert the proper values in the file. Otherwise, the config file is invalid, as it’s telling you right here.

[@ctsttom Participant 14 years, 10 months ago]

I am having the same problem on a fresh install and have for a long time, and the command ‘sudo yum install php5-mysql’ says no package php5-myqsl available. Nothing to do.

[root@www httpdocs]# sudo yum install php5-mysql

base | 2.1 kB 00:00

updates | 1.9 kB 00:00

addons | 951 B 00:00

extras | 1.1 kB 00:00

Setting up Install Process

Parsing package install arguments

No package php5-mysql available.

Nothing to do

[@chrishajer Participant 14 years, 10 months ago]

ctsttom, what is your operating system? I’m sure we can find a php5/mysql package for you.