DISCUSSION - How to set up/install Joomla on Win XP for local testing

[DickSas]

After starting WAMP and going to //localhost/joomla I got an empty screen and at the bottom "ready". What's going wrong?
Dick

[Waseem Sadiq]

If you have a white icon in the system tray and both services are running then typing http://localhost/joomla should get you to your new joomla folder

[JavaJulie]

I'm brand new to Joomla, and I just had to add my thanks for the excellent tutorial you posted here.  I had Joomla up and running in a couple of minutes thanks to your excellent advice, well done!

(Off to look for equally helpful design tutorials!)

[juicyfruit]

Thanks Haaris for a great tutorial ;-)

I would like to get Wampserver and joomla running in SEF mode.
But I don't know how to enable WAMPserver to turn on mod_rewrite.

Looking at the internet for information, I've added the following lines in the httpd.conf for apache in wampserver.

>> start
LoadModule rewrite_module modules/mod_rewrite.so
AddModule mod_rewrite.c


RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule google.html http://www.google.com

>>> end

I've got a .htaccess file in accordance to
http://www.open-sef.org/component/optio ... opic,710.0

Does anyone know what else is required?

cheers
Eddie

[Waseem Sadiq]

Hi Eddie,

I've never used Wamp for anything other than local testing so have never needed SEF functionality. I'm afraid that I can't help with this request 

@JavaJulie

You're welcome and THANKS

[seoulenite]

hi

when starting the "http://localhost/" all i get is a page with the following information:


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

server configuarition                                                 


                      Apache version :Apache/2.0.55 (Win32) 

                      PHP version :5.1.2 Loaded extensions :

                      MySQL version


Tools

              phpinfo( )
              PHPmyadmin 2.7.0-pl2
            SQLitemanager 1.1.3



Your projects


Your aliases
         
                phpmyadmin
                sqlitemanager

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



what do i do next? there isnt any obvious blank fields to fill in the info

[Waseem Sadiq]

You need to go to your www folder (C:\wamp\www) and create a new folder (call it joomla) and unzip your joomla files into this folder. You will then see a link for joomla in "Your Projects".

The good news is that if you have this page you've set everything up properly

[seoulenite]

You need to go to your www folder (C:\wamp\www) and create a new folder (call it joomla) and unzip your joomla files into this folder. You will then see a link for joomla in "Your Projects".

The good news is that if you have this page you've set everything up properly

thank you, now it works, and thank you for a very well written and easy to follow tutorial! 

[ugsmi0]

Curious why you said to leave the password to the DB blank ? ?

aren't permissions different on localhost be default then on the server, anything need changing in this area for localhost

[DeanMarshall]

Curious why you said to leave the password to the DB blank ? ?

aren't permissions different on localhost be default then on the server, anything need changing in this area for localhost

On most localhost setups the database server has a 'root' account that has no password set.
That is just how it is 'out of the box'.
When you install joomla you need to provide the details of a user (a username and password), as that is the only 'account' that exists it is the easiest to describe - especially for newbies, who are the intended audience of this tutorial.

Leaving the default password blank is inadvisable on a publicly accessible server - but if your localhost server is just for your personal use while developing the site it should be okay.  When you 'migrate' the Joomla installation to your public web server you will need to edit configuration.php to reflect the database and user settings of that server.

Dean.

[Jenny]

I think joomlasolutions offers a guide on how to sync your local site and JSAS.  I am not sure if it is the same.. but it should be relatively similar.

Backup your files and give it a try.. it should work the same.

[Waseem Sadiq]

Curious why you said to leave the password to the DB blank ? ?

aren't permissions different on localhost be default then on the server, anything need changing in this area for localhost

On most localhost setups the database server has a 'root' account that has no password set.
That is just how it is 'out of the box'.
When you install joomla you need to provide the details of a user (a username and password), as that is the only 'account' that exists it is the easiest to describe - especially for newbies, who are the intended audience of this tutorial.

Leaving the default password blank is inadvisable on a publicly accessible server - but if your localhost server is just for your personal use while developing the site it should be okay.  When you 'migrate' the Joomla installation to your public web server you will need to edit configuration.php to reflect the database and user settings of that server.

Dean.

Well said Dean

I second this explaination

[Jacky Kenna]

Hi Harris

I have loaded WAMP as I was recommended to load WAMP by PHP Essential Training by Lynda.com.

I have read this thread and yet can not find where I am going wrong.  If you have a few moments to cast your eye over this.  I just want to get started!!!!!

I have come across this forum because I have had some problems. I have looked at  Joomla and would like to use this with Dreamweaver.

I am not a computer expert but I publish a magazine using all the appropriate programs so I  am not a complete idiot but I can not follow the following.

These are verbatim directions from the Lynda.com.PHP.Essential.Training  by Brian Maxx which follow the installation of WAMP.  I have also installed PHP4.4.2_add-on.exe as requested form this course.

I actually use a virtual host I have this information in another note pad file and I place it at the very end of this file here.

You can specify a server name and if you have a special host then you can put that host or whole url name the domain name. 1


ServerName  intro2php.invisiontek.office
Documents C:\Apache2Webs\learning_php
DirectoryIndex index.php index.html home.html home.php



The document root is important This is where is mine is going to be and if you look at the Dreamweaver videos you can see that this is my path.2
I have an index.php file which is going to be the default there and you can actually move it to the front if it is not there. Space delaminated so you put whatever you want there. That’s really all you need there. Plus your IP address it could be one mine happens to be 114. You could just use local host it doesn’t really matter.  But this is how I would set up a virtual host if you want to go to an outside directory. 2
There are other ways to get this started but I have a lot of hosts on this machine or a lot of different folders that I am going to be working with and I need one virtual host and I have a least 20 on this machine.4

And this all separate from other Apache installs that you nay have. So once you save that file you have to actually come down there and you don’t click it you hold the button there to get wamp server to work for you and then you go to apache and you just restart the service.

If you have made a mistake a syntax error in your ini file 5  then it won’t load. You have to actually check some things but if you just did it in a normal way you shouldn’t get errors but you would have to research it if it didn’t start.6

1>
2>
3>
4 >
5 >
6 >

I have entered
  (This is my IP Address)

ServerName  intro2php.invisiontek.office  (What should I put here?)
Documents C:\wamp\www\Learning_ PHP
DirectoryIndex  index.php index.html home.html home.php



I have Dreamweaver 8.
I have windows XP
I have made simple HTML sites.
I use IIS as a test site hitting f12 to open Explorer and Ctrl f12 to open Firefox.
I use C:\Inetpub
After installing WAMP I get
“you are not authorised to view this page” when  I hit Local host in the tray.
“The page cannot be found” when  I hit sqlitemanager or phpmyadmin in the tray.
I can still see my html sites in IIS.

I notice that on Brian Maxx’s screen  Examples Phpmyadmin and sqlmanager are in WWW yet when I load they are one up in WAMP. Does this make a difference?

If  I hover on the WAMP tray  I see that none of 2  services  running.
I click on Restart all services, check  again and it’s the same.
I uninstall and re install. I get one of two services running
I believe that that Apache is not running as Start Stop and Restart are greyed out. Nothing happens when I click install under Apache.
Hence I can not get past the first line in your instructions for Joomla

I am not sure if the directions above are required if I am using IIS. 
Can I run Wamp and use C:\Inetpub and IIS or must I use WWW in Wamp?

I have also read that it is not advised to use Skype at the same time and I therefore assume that there must be other such programs which should be avoided.  Does this mean that Skype can not be used. Some people use that as their main communication to other parts of the world.

With great respect but I have bought Lynda.com.PHP.Essential.Training  because of the reputation of the company Using WAMP has been recommended by Brian Maxx the author of  .PHP.Essential.Training  who praises WAMP.  I have great respect for creaters of these programs and for those who work to pass on knowledge and I am sure that once this obstacle is overcome then Lynda.com.PHP.Essential.Training  will be excellent bit till then I am stuck.

I am upset at the above. I would be pleased if anyone can direct me for here.

I would like step by step instructions.  No I am desperate for one as I have spent several days trying to research this.

Jacky Kenna
London

[DeanMarshall]

Hi Jacky,

There are a lot of potential issues to work through there. If I may I would guess that your problem is that you are trying to run two web servers on the one machine. This is certainly possible but you would have to set them to use different ports. Easier is to turn one off while you use the other.

You can edit apache's httpd.conf file to force it to listen to  a different port, or you can turn off the IIS web service.

Additionally you may be trying to run to mySQL servers on the same machine.
I think XP either comes with such a server or at least if frequently picks one up along the way.
You will have to turn the existing server off.


You can do this on an ad hoc basis, as and when needed:
In the 'run' dialog box accessible from the start menu type:
'net start mysql'
without the quotes.

If you want to turn it off permanently:
To do this type this command into the run dialog.
services.msc

Find your MySQL service and right click on it select properties.
Change 'Startup type' to manual.

If ever you do want to run the MySQL then use the following commang in the run dialog
'net start mysql'

Dean

[ugsmi0]

On most localhost setups the database server has a 'root' account that has no password set.
That is just how it is 'out of the box'.

that's not completely correct, its just as important for localhost to have a database username/password then a live site.  In most cases its required that you need a username and password for localhost database.  To not have one would mean accessing it at super admin mode which is not recommended also it's not enabled by default you have to enable it to work.

I think for the purpose of local testing you should always have a username and password

[Jacky Kenna]

Hi To everyone
Thanks for the advice.
I still have not sorted out WAMP or Joomla. I think that I have collected trailers as I have Loaded and uninsulated these programs. If I do a search for php then I see loads of files which are on my system.

So far as Skype and IIS are concerned. I could not get IIS this morning I opened the internet information Services which on my machine is start/programs/administration Tools/Internet Information Services/name of my machine/websites And you will see on the right Default Web Site and either Running or Stopped. ( I suggest a shortcut). Right click to start/stop. When I clicked start I got an error. Goggled it and was told that SOMETIMES IIS will not open if Skype is running. Suggestion was to try again. I closed the system down. Restarted opened windows task manager (CtrlAltDelete) opened tab Processes located Skype and closed it. Went to IIS and it was running. Went to skype using Programs/skype and opened it. 'Tested it All OK. Went to VOIP opened it Tested it. All OK.

So what this means is that they work OK together. All I want is to have PHP Mysql running at the same time. As I have said above my concern is that I have trailers which lead nowhere and i can not delete them. Joomla in particular has been deleted but left its bit all over the place. If I reinstall Joomla I will have all thees duplicated.

My intention now is to reload Mysql, PHP and PHP Admin separately But should I reinsall the whole system?

All the best
Jacky

[DianeH]

1) Install Joomla on your webserver (either by using fantastico or by uploading & extracting the contents of the zip). Remember to use the SAME admin user name and password that you used for your local joomla installation (This can be changed later but is ABSOLUTELY necessary for this to work)

I have posted some issues on THIS thread re my attempts to get our local-built site onto the live server.

As an extra plea for help, could someone please tell me in simple terms how to install Joomla on the server? I cannot see a way to unzip at the server side, and I am trying to install into a sub-directory of the main site, which I do not want to delete just yet, or mess up. When everything is working, the site will be moved to the root.

I'm not sure whether I can use fantastico, or any of the other autoinstallers I've read about. The host provides a Plesk control panel.

Thanks.

[lausianne]

Now with wamp fired up in your browser go to http://localhost/intranet_joomla and you should see you company's intranet joomla backed up on your hard drive.

Thanks for the tutorial! I went through this to copy a site.
Now when I try to load it what comes up is "This site is temporarily unavailable."

What's wrong? Thank you!

[DeanMarshall]

There will be a number embedded in that error message.

See toubkal's post in the FAQs forum for the meaning of these numbers.
http://forum.joomla.org/index.php/topic,3647.0.html

Dean

[lausianne]

Thank you! Yes, the number was 2, could not connect to db.
In configuration.php I now changed $mosConfig_host to 'localhost'.

I don't get the error message anymore. The template loads, but none of the content ...

[Waseem Sadiq]

Thank you! Yes, the number was 2, could not connect to db.
In configuration.php I now changed $mosConfig_host to 'localhost'.

I don't get the error message anymore. The template loads, but none of the content ...

did you also set the configuration parmeters correctly for the local db in configuration.php

[vickiea]

BRAVO!  This worked brilliantly on my Windows XP Home SP2.  Thanks for making it easy!
BRAVO!
Thanks.

[ercilia]

Thank you!
This tutorial saved my hide!

Gratefully yours,
Ercilia

[Waseem Sadiq]

@vickiea & ercilia

you're both more than welcome

Haaris

[Magicspon]

Hi...

I've manually installed Joomla onto my laptop using phpdev5 to enable php amd mysql..

Currently my site is not online, its just stored in my http://localhost

I have recently bought some domains and hosting and i'd like to upload my site to the net... how do i do this..

Also i need to upload templates to several domain names, i.e. a PA's site, Sales Leader site..

This is really urgent and has to be done today.. any help will be massively appreciated..

Thanks Dave

[DeanMarshall]

Hi,

There are a couple of tutorials in the FAQs forum on moving sites from one server to another.
Essentially it boils down to four steps.

1. Export the database from the source using phpMyAdmin
2. Import the database into the 'destination' using phpMyAdmin (or similar) on the new host.
3. FTP the files over from the old host to the new.
4. Tweak about four settings in configuration.php: paths, urls, database details (if different).

Dean

[MKJ]

Anyone figured out how to stop the dos window showing when using JSAS?  It needs to start as a service I think when the machine starts instead of being activated by JSAS.  Bit disconcerting seeing the dos window flash on the screen now and then when someone access your site  .

[4bees]

Thanks for the tut and all the follow up comments. I have managed to get Joomla installed using the original tutorial and can see the Joomla front page, however when I try to log onto the administration page, it keeps returning to the same login page with an error at the top saying ' You need to login'.

According to the final page of the installation, my login and password were both admin. But they seem to not be working?

Any ideas? 

[4bees]

Wouldn't you know it. It is now working!
Sorry for the bother 

[Waseem Sadiq]

You're Welcome 4Bees

I'm out in San Francisco at the moment helping out at the Joomla booth and I had to install Wamp & Joomla today on a laptop and I used the exact same steps as outlined in this tutorial - Glad to see its still helping people

Haaris