Newbie WordPress question[s]

[randomo]

Hi guys,

Finally decided to take the plunge & try to use WordPress for a blog-type site. (I am a very experienced PC user, know a little programming, have set up some rudimentary websites, but have never used WP.)

I downloaded it & followed the directions in their "famous 5-minute installation" process. But I didn't get far. When I opened the "install" file, I got an error message:

'.__('You appear to have already installed WordPress. To reinstall please clear your old database tables first.').'

I don't know how to do what it's telling me to do.

BTW, it turns out I had downloaded it a year ago (but not installed it) - could that previous download be causing the problem?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide!

[GeoOwners]

do you have hosting set up?

I use hostgator and load wp using fantastico in the control panel

I think most hosting companies have that.

[i-0.com]

I'm assuming that you manually uploaded. Did you edit the wp-config.php file? These variables need to be defined within this file:
// ** MySQL settings ** //
// define('DB_NAME', 'putyourdbnamehere'); // The name of the database
// define('DB_USER', 'usernamehere'); // Your MySQL username
// define('DB_PASSWORD', 'yourpasswordhere'); // ...and password
define('DB_HOST', 'localhost'); // 99% chance you won't need to change this value
define('DB_CHARSET', 'utf8');
define('DB_COLLATE', '');

If needed, did you create a new database? New database user, or assign an existing user?

[randomo]

Originally Posted by dentalpro

do you have hosting set up?

I use hostgator and load wp using fantastico in the control panel

I think most hosting companies have that.

Yes, I use HostGator too and I set up WP using cpanel. But I still don't know how to get beyond this error message and get it running. (I really don't understand how the process is supposed to work.)

Originally Posted by i-0.com

I'm assuming that you manually uploaded. Did you edit the wp-config.php file? These variables need to be defined within this file:
// ** MySQL settings ** //
// define('DB_NAME', 'putyourdbnamehere'); // The name of the database
// define('DB_USER', 'usernamehere'); // Your MySQL username
// define('DB_PASSWORD', 'yourpasswordhere'); // ...and password
define('DB_HOST', 'localhost'); // 99% chance you won't need to change this value
define('DB_CHARSET', 'utf8');
define('DB_COLLATE', '');

If needed, did you create a new database? New database user, or assign an existing user?

Yes, I edited [and renamed] the config file. I created a new database in the HostGator cpanel (if I understand your question correctly). Was I supposed to run "install" before doing that, or do I no longer have to run "install" because I did that? (Sorry to be such an ignoramus!)

[HomerJ]

'.__('You appear to have already installed WordPress. To reinstall please clear your old database tables first.').'

if its asking to clear your old database tables, then what you need to do is login to cpanel and find the button for 'phpmyadmin' (it will be under the 'database' section of cpanel.)

open that, then you should be able to locate the appropriate db for that wp install.

go to the db, select all the tables and choose 'drop tables'. it will clear all the contents of the tables for the db.


i think the problem is you are running the install file and it is trying to create the db tables but it cant because they are already created (for whatever reason)


whenever i used cpanel to install wp i always did it through fantastico which is a one click install, and never had any problems.

now i've sort of graduated to the point where i want to build my sites offline on my local machine before going live with them. if you get to that point i would recommend downloading WAMP (Windows, Apache, MySQL, PHP). This basically allows you to run a local server from your pc/laptop so you can build sites offline, then when you are ready to go live with the finished site you upload it to your live server at hostgator via ftp.

also, i'm thinking, Tony Floyd is one of the wp gurus around here. he would be a good one to consult.

also, the wordpress support forum is pretty good and usually able to get help there, searching the forums usually reveals someone has had the same problem you had

hope this helps

[i-0.com]

Originally Posted by randomo

Yes, I edited [and renamed] the config file. I created a new database in the HostGator cpanel (if I understand your question correctly). Was I supposed to run "install" before doing that, or do I no longer have to run "install" because I did that? (Sorry to be such an ignoramus!)

You say you renamed the config file, do you have a correctly formatted "wp-config.php" residing in the root directory?

I manually create my instances of WP so I'm not sure exactly what happens during a "one click install". I swear that in the past (I have about 2 dozen WP sites) that this happened to me an it was no big deal to correct, but it's been so long ago I can't remember what it was.

Is this a brand new install, with a brand new database?

You might want to check out some of the results of this search:
http://www.google.com/search?q=You%2...tables%20first

[randomo]

Originally Posted by HomerJ

if its asking to clear your old database tables, then what you need to do is login to cpanel and find the button for 'phpmyadmin' (it will be under the 'database' section of cpanel.)

open that, then you should be able to locate the appropriate db for that wp install.

go to the db, select all the tables and choose 'drop tables'. it will clear all the contents of the tables for the db.


i think the problem is you are running the install file and it is trying to create the db tables but it cant because they are already created (for whatever reason)


whenever i used cpanel to install wp i always did it through fantastico which is a one click install, and never had any problems.

now i've sort of graduated to the point where i want to build my sites offline on my local machine before going live with them. if you get to that point i would recommend downloading WAMP (Windows, Apache, MySQL, PHP). This basically allows you to run a local server from your pc/laptop so you can build sites offline, then when you are ready to go live with the finished site you upload it to your live server at hostgator via ftp.

also, i'm thinking, Tony Floyd is one of the wp gurus around here. he would be a good one to consult.

also, the wordpress support forum is pretty good and usually able to get help there, searching the forums usually reveals someone has had the same problem you had

hope this helps

That sounds like great advice, thanks! (I say "sounds like" because I haven't tried it yet, but you fill me with confidence. )

Originally Posted by i-0.com

You say you renamed the config file, do you have a correctly formatted "wp-config.php" residing in the root directory?

Yes, I do.

Originally Posted by i-0.com

You might want to check out some of the results of this search:
http://www.google.com/search?q=You%2...tables%20first

Will check it out, thanks.

[HomerJ]

also try

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=...856a575d939ef4

[copper]

Why don't you delete hosting acct for that domain and start fresh?
That would be simplest way to go.

Also, I don't recommend using fantastico wp install as I heard
many problems when you try to upgrade.

[I Sold Grandma]

Simply login to hostgator, go to fantastico, and choose install Wordpress!
There was no need to download anything or follow any instructions or change any tables or databases
The process should take about 10 seconds

[randomo]

Originally Posted by I Sold Grandma

Simply login to hostgator, go to fantastico, and choose install Wordpress!
There was no need to download anything or follow any instructions or change any tables or databases
The process should take about 10 seconds

Hey, that's a great tip! Why didn't I ever hear about this before?

Still, I'm not understanding a few things. I entered fantastico and chose to install WordPress. It's giving me a few items to fill in:

Under "Installation location", it says "Install on domain" and gives a dropdown list. Do I choose [whatever].com (the domain for which I want to set up a WordPress blog), or do I choose the subdomain version - [whatever].[main domain for this hosting account].com? (The domain on which I want to set up the blog is not the main domain for this hosting account.)

Under "Admin access data", it's asking for Administrator-username and Password. Are these the username and password for my hosting account, or are they special ones that I am setting up for WordPress?

Under "Base configuration", it's asking for an "Admin nickname" - do I need to fill that in, and if so, why?

It's also asking for "Site name" - is that the domain for which I want to set up a WordPress blog, or is it the domain that my hosting account is built on?

Sorry to be so ignorant; I appreciate all attempts to clear up my lack of knowledge about this.

Regards,
Dave

[I Sold Grandma]

Under "Installation location", it says "Install on domain" and gives a dropdown list. Do I choose [whatever].com (the domain for which I want to set up a WordPress blog),

Yes

Under "Admin access data", it's asking for Administrator-username and Password.

Make the Administrator-username Admin and make up a password that you will remember

Under "Base configuration", it's asking for an "Admin nickname" - do I need to fill that in, and if so, why?
The nickname will show in posts as posted by .....
I don't bother

It's also asking for "Site name" - is that the domain for which I want to set up a WordPress blog, or is it the domain that my hosting account is built on?
Make the site name the domain name. You can change it later if you think of a better site name

[randomo]

OK, I filled in all the data and installed WordPress in the correct directory at HostGator.

Final dumb question: now how do I actually access it (i.e., open the program and create my blog)? You'd think that would be mentioned prominently in the instructions ....

[tonyfloyd]

yoursitename.com/wp-admin

login with username and password.....

[I Sold Grandma]

Go to the URL or domain name in your browser, firefox or whatever you use

Oh yeah, do what Tony said
If it doesn't work, raise a ticket at Hostgator

[randomo]

Hey it works! I'm a blogger!

Now I just have to start learning about themes and layout and such ... looking forward to the challenge. Thanks to everybody who posted good advice in this thread!

[GeoOwners]

congrats...soon you'll have 100 sites trust me ?

Also each time there is a new version of WP you can upgrade with one click through fantastico too...just go to your list of sites and choose the site and click

[HomerJ]

i didnt think you could upgrade through fantastico. didnt used to be that way, is this new?