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Step 1: Installing the mySQL 5.1 Database Server
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Join me as I do a step-by-step installation of the mySQL 5.1 database server on my Windows XP Professional machine.

  1. This page was last updated April 20, 2009. Over time, the instructions may become outdated as external changes are made ie. the mySQL website.
  2. I'm using dBASE Plus 2.61.5, Windows XP Professional and Mozilla Firefox 3 web browser. Some steps and/or screen messages may vary slightly if you are using different products.
  3. If you have a previous installation of mySQL server on your machine, please check the version. If upgrading from versions of MySQL prior to 4.1.5, you must uninstall the existing version before installing a new version. Later versions may be upgraded with the installer without uninstalling.
  4. The database installation is plain vanilla - I am sticking with typical options and basic functionality. The goal is to install a general-purpose mySQL database.
  5. Click on the mySQL logo above, which will open a new browser window and take you to the homepage of mySQL AB, a Swedish company which sells commercial versions of mySQL, and sells support for mySQL. To their credit, they also provide the free open-source versions, which is what we are interested in. Sometimes, it seems that it is intentionally difficult to find and the names of things seem to change, but at least it is there. Thank you, mySQL AB.
  6. There is a set of tabs near the top of the page. Click on the 'Developer Zone' tab.
  7. On the left side of the page, look for:
    MySQL Server Community Edition
    * GA 5.0.77
    * GA 5.1.34
    * Alpha 6.0.10
    Click on the 'GA 5.1.34' link. (GA stands for Generally Available)
  8. The page that appears will give you a side-by-side comparison of the Free vs. Paid versions of mySQL server. Read all of the interesting and informative stuff. If you are comfortable with the "Do It Yourself" points, click on 'Download >>' and then scroll down to 'Windows Downloads'.
  9. If you are interested, you can read about the different packages and compare them by clicking on the "(platform notes)" link beside the Windows Downloads heading.
  10. Below that heading are the different Windows packages. I prefer to use the 'Windows Essentials' version - it uses .msi (Microsoft Installer) and it is much smaller than the others.
  11. Click on 'Download' and any other warnings or notifications by your browser or operating system.
  12. You may be taken to a survey screen, in which case you can answer the questions or click on the 'No thanks, just take me to the Downloads!' link.
  13. When the download is complete, double-click on the .msi file to start the installation process.
  14. The first screen gives general information:

    Click on 'Next'.
  15. The next screen is for Setup Type. I am going to leave it on 'Typical' as I have no customizations to make at this time. Click on 'Next'.
  16. The next screen is a summary of installation choices. Review them and click on 'Install' if you are happy. If not, you can click 'Back' and make changes.
  17. The installation begins, and a progress bar tracks the progress. At one point, I was presented with 2 screens of advertising for mySQL Enterprise products. I clicked 'Next'.
  18. The next screen tells us that the installation wizard is done and offers the option to 'Configure the mySQL Server now'. Make sure that this is checked. Click on 'Finish'.
  19. The next screen welcomes us to the 'mySQL Server Instance Configuration Wizard 1.0.15.0'. Read the valuable information and click on 'Next'.
  20. On the next screen, choose 'Detailed Configuration' and then 'Next':

  21. On the next screen, choose 'Developer Machine' and then 'Next':

  22. On the next screen, I chose 'Multifunctional Database' for maximum flexibility. Make your choice, then click on 'Next':

  23. There are 4 screens of configuration that follow. I accepted the default values for all 4 screens, and simply clicked 'Next' on each page. The configuration pages deal with InnoDB tablespace settings, expected number of concurrent users, networking options, language drivers, and startup options.
  24. The next screen allows us to set security options. In my case, I will only be connecting to the machine locally so all I have to do is enter a password for the administrator account and retype it. The userID for this administrator account is 'root'. Be sure to write the userID and password down somewhere secure so that when you come back in 3 months, you will be able to access your server. I do not want to allow root access remotely or create an anonymous account - both of these options could create insecurity and we don't want that. Click on 'Next'.
  25. The next screen will give us some feedback as it attempts to do the configuration. Click on 'Execute' and watch carefully as it does things.
  26. When it's all over, the screen shows:

    Be sure to take note of where the configuration file is located, in case you have to do any tweaking. Click on 'Finish'.
  27. Just to be sure, I opened up my 'Services' console and sure enough, there it was. Already running and configured to start automatically.

Next: Step 2: Installing the mySQL ODBC Driver 3.51

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