MySQL Installation and Setup

To have MySQL, first download it from the MySQL web site. At the time of this writing, the recommended version is MySQL 4.1.7. The installation can be long but it is detailed as much as possible. Following the tradition of Windows installations, it presents a default option in each page when necessary and you may just accept this default.

The lessons on this site are for a Microsoft Windows installation. This means that you should select the Windows (x86) (4.1.7 35.8M). After downloading it, you must install it on your computer.

1. After downloading it, in the window, you can double-click the SETUP.EXE icon to start the installation
    
   
    
   On Windows XP SP2, if you are presented with a File Download dialog box, click Run
    
   
2. After double-clicking the icon, in the first page of the wizard, click Next
    
   
3. Accept to perform a Typical installation and click Next
    
   
4. To start the installation, click Install
    
   
    
5. If you want to create an account with the MySQL.com web site, accept the first radio button.
   If you already have an account, select the second radio button, type your email address and password
   If you don't want to open an account with the MySQL.com web site, select the bottom radio button
    
   
6. Click Next
7. When the installation is over, keep the Configure The MySQL Server  Now check box and click Finish
    
   
8. In the MySQL Server Instance Configuration Wizard, click Next
    
   
9. If you are installing MySQL on a computer that doesn't have MySQL already, click the Standard Configuration radio button
    
   
10. Click Next
11. Accept to Install As Windows Service and click Next
     
    
12. Although you can skip it, you should provide a password for the root account
     
    
13. Click Next
14. To process the setup, click Execute
     
    
15. When the server configuration is complete, click Finish
     
    

MySQL Startup

After installing MySQL, you can start it to use it. In the previous versions, you had to open the Command Prompt. The new MySQL provides its own Command Prompt. To open it, on the taskbar, you can click Start (All) Programs -> MySQL -> MySQL Server 4.1 -> MySQL Command Line Client.

Practical Learning: Starting MySQL

1. To launch MySQL, on the taskbar, you can click Start (All) Programs -> MySQL -> MySQL Server 4.1 -> MySQL Command Line Client
2. Type the password you provided for the root account and press Enter
    
   
3. To exit from MySQL, type quit and press Enter
4. To close the prompt, type exit and press Enter