First you need to get it on your server somewhere. Unzip it on your desktop and then rename that bbpress folder to whatever you want to call your forum (some people us “forums”, like here, or “forum” or “discussions”. If you don’t change it from bbpress, you will be accessing it at http://www.example.com/bbpress/
Once you unzip it, rename the folder if you want, upload it to your server. It’s commonly installed in a subfolder of WordPress. So, if WordPress is here: /var/www/htdocs/wordpress/ then you will want bbpress here /var/www/htdocs/wordpress/bbpress/ (with whatever you called the bbpress folder.)
Once it’s uploaded there, you will access the installer online like this:
http://www.example.com/bbpress/ (assuming http://www.example.com/ displays your WordPress site.)
Once you are this far, you can work on the integration with WordPress.
So would that directory be in my cPanel? I’m using Hostgator web hosting if that makes a difference
All the existing directories will be in the cPanel. Not sure if you can create a new one there, but you don’t even need to. find out where WordPress is installed (the folder with wp-config.php in it usually) and then upload the whole bbpress folder to the server. Rename that bbpress folder to whatever you want before you upload it.
I’m pretty sure that I’ve followed the directions right, I upload the .zip file to the same folder that contains ‘wp-config.php’,unzipped it there; when I visit the intended url of the forum, nothing appears.
Do you get a subdomain to your forum from cPanel? I think, bbPress need this before you go to install. Just add subdomain to bbPress folder. 
What do you mean “nothing” appears? Blank screen or 404 from your WordPress site? Or something else? How about the URL where you are trying to install?
You can use a subdomain if you like, but it’s not necessary. You have a more basic problem.
I have my bbPress forum in subdomain and without any problem.
When I say nothing appears, I get the page ”HTTP 404 Page Not Found”
And what exactly do you mean by a subdomain and how do I create one?
If you want your forum to discussion.yourdomain.com , you can use to forum a subdomain. In cPanel go to Subdomains, than manage subdomains. Now just add subdomain to your bbPress folder. Example:
myforum.mydomain.net (public_html/myforum)
Note: Subdomains rely on the DNS system in order to function, which means that your DNS information must propagate throughout the different DNS servers on the Internet before your subdomain becomes fully active. This process on the average takes a few hours.
When I say nothing appears, I get the page ”HTTP 404 Page Not Found”
<– Are you sure, that you go to right url?
Yes, I want my forum at mysite.com/forum
When I enter that in, I get the HTTP 404
I just created a subdomain in the bbpress folder, I went to the url and I got this:
Forbidden
You don’t have permission to access /cgi-bin/ on this server.
Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.
I deleted and re-created a subdomain and it worked; I got the bbpress installer
Thanks guys
You’re welcome. Happy new year with bbPress.
I’ve hit yet another snag.
Apparently, I have bbpress installed on my site and integrated with WordPress. NOW HOW THE HECK DO I MAKE A FREAKIN FORUM AND PUT IT ON MY SITE??!!!!!
The easiest way is to edit the layout of the forum to respond to the look of your blog.
How? there is nothing about bbpress on my WordPress dashboard, and when i visit the subdomain it just says bbpress is already installed
There won’t be anything in your WordPress dashboard about bbPress. What happens when you try to access the forum URL? (and what is the forum URL?)
The url is http://forum.easyushistory.com/bb-admin/install.php
The intended domain is forum.easyushistory.com
I would recommend dropping the bb_ tables from the database, and try installing again at the URL you provided. That error occurs when there are old bb_ database tables in the database. If you changed the bb_ table prefix, then just drop the tables with that prefix. Then complete the installation again.
So I delete all files that start with bb_ ?
Am I just uninstalling bbpress?
No, you delete all the database tables that have the prefix of bb_. You’re not deleting the files in the filesystem at all. Database tables, not files. The installer checks for those tables, and if they’re present, it suggests you upgrade instead of install. If you remove the tables, bbPress will continue with the installer.
Here is a list of the tables that are created in 1.0. Here I changed the table prefix from bb_ to bbpress_:
http://chrishajer.com/bbpress/bbpress-tables.png
Those are the tables that need to be dropped to start the installation over. You don’t need to delete any files at all.
