This tutorial is for phpMyAdmin version 3.5.5.

It may be the same or similar for other versions, but no guarantee is made.

1) Open your phpMyAdmin panel:

2) Click on the database you want to restore:

3) Click on the tab Import:

4) Click on Browse and select the database to upload. Ensure the Format is SQL and click on Go:

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This tutorial is for phpMyAdmin version 3.5.5.

It is probably the same for other versions, but no guarantee is made.

1) Open your phpMyAdmin panel:

2) Click on the database you want to backup:

3) Click on the tab Export:

4) Ensure that Export Method is Quick and Format is SQL, then click on Go:

5) Save the resulting file. Depending on which web browser you are using, you may be prompted in various ways to save the file. Save the file in a secure location if you should need to restore it in future.

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This tutorial assumes that you have AMPSS 1.2 installed.

The procedure should be the same for other versions of AMPPS.

An AMPPS installation procedure for Windows XP can be found here.

Creating a Database

1) Open your browser and enter http://localhost/phpmyadmin. This will bring you to the MySQL setup page:

2) Click on the Databases tab:

3) Enter a name for the database, then click on the Create button. The name must be 64 characters or less and composed of letters, numbers and underscores. Avoid using numbers at the start of the name. A good name should indicate the purpose of the database. For example: joomla_database or database_for_drupal. There should be no need to change the other settings:

4) Confirm the database was successfully created (this is a popup that only lasts a few seconds):

Creating a User for the Database

5) Click on the Databases tab:

6) Click on Check Privileges:

7) Click on Add a new user:

8) Fill in the user information:

User Name: Leave the dropdown selection as Use text field and enter a user name in the edit box on the right side. A user name may be a maximum of 16 characters in length. The MySQL documentation recommends using only ASCII characters in the name. It would probably be safest to restrict yourself to lowercase letters, uppercase letters, and / or digits.

Host: since this is for AMPPS, select Local from the dropdown box.

Password: if you want the user to have a password, then leave the selection in the dropdown box as Use text field and enter a password (up to 16 characters, composed of letters and / or digits) into the edit box on the right.

If you don’t want the user to have a password (for the password to be blank) then select No Password from the dropdown box. Alternatively, you can allow the system to generate a password for you (remember it or write it down, since you will need to pass that password on to applications that need it).

9) Ensure Grant all privileges on database is selected.

10) Leave the Global Privileges as they are.

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These instructions are for installing AMPPS 1.2 on Windows XP with Service Pack 3. It should work for other configurations as well.

AMPPS is an extremely easy to install and use Apache Server which comes bundled with MySQL (a database), PHP (server side scripting language), Perl (another server side scripting language), Python (yet another scripting language) and auto-installation scripts for 225 different web applications.

Why would I want to install it?

To allow development and testing on your local machine instead of on a remote (and probably live) server. I use it to test out changes to my website before uploading and committing changes to the real site.

Compared to XAMPP, AMPPS is easier and friendlier to use because of its auto-installation scripts. This allows you to easily try out various web applications without having to (1) find them yourself, and (2) handle the low level install details (not that it is hard). If an application you want to try out does not have an auto-install script, you can still install it manually (as you would under XAMPP).

Since I am more interested in testing out applications than developing them, I like the convenience of having so many to choose from.

Why wouldn’t I want to install it?

AMPPS does not enable port 443. Secure URLs, which begin with https, connect to your browser using port 443. Regular URLs, which begin with http, connect to your browser using port 80.

There does not seem to be a simple way to enable it.

For most people, this is not likely to be an issue.

As well, AMPPS does not grant you MySQL root access. Again, for most people this doesn’t matter because AMPPS scripts handle database creation for you (if the application needs one). If you need to create a new database, you simply have to assign it a user to be able to use it.

Installation

Download the self extracting package, run it and, in most cases, accept the default settings.

Downloading

1) Go to the AMPPS download page and click on the download icon:

2) Select to either Save the file or to Run it directly over the Internet. Saving allows you to uninstall and reinstall if necessary:

Installation

3) Click Run to begin installation. NOTE: this step may differ depending on (1) whether you chose to Save or Run the file in Step 2, (2) which browser you are using. I used Internet Explorer, FireFox downloads into its own location, (3) you already have the file and are just reinstalling.

4) Windows may issue a Security Warning. It is safe to click on Run:

5) Click Next on the welcome screen.

6) Read the License Agreements and, if you agree, select “I accept the agreement” checkbox and click on Next to continue. Note: if you do not accept the agreements, then you will not be able to install AMPPS

:

7) Click Next to continue.

8) Choose where you want to install AMPPS. By default, it will be installed in C:\Program Files\Ampps. For most installs, the default selection is fine. I chose to install it in D:\ampps. You can either type the install location yourself, or browse for it:

9) Click Next to create a menu folder called Ampps. If you like, you can change the name of the folder (by typing in a different folder name) or browse and select a folder to install AMPPS into. I accepted the default:

10) Click Next to allow creation of (1) Desktop Icon, (2) Quick Launch Icon, and (3) Start Menu Icon. If you do not want any or all of these icons created, then deselect them by clicking on the appropriate checkbox:

11) Review your installation options and click Next to continue installation. If you want to change any installation options, click Back to go to a previous screen. Since there were three different configuration option screens, you might have to click Back up to three times:

12) During installation, a progress screen will be displayed. Just wait:

13) After installation, click Finish to launch AMPPS:

14) Windows may issue a Security Alert about running the Apache HTTP Server. Click Unblock to allow the Apache HTTP Server to run. NOTE: the Apache Server needs to run to in order for AMPPS to work:

15) Windows may issue a Security Alert about running the MySQL Database. Click to allow the MySQL Database to run. NOTE: the MySQL Database needs to run in order for AMPPS to work:

The AMPPS Control Panel

The AMPPS control panel is a little bit unintuitive – you know that the Apache server and MySQL Database are running because the Start icons are greyed out. It would be less confusing (I think) if they provided some sort of Running icon.

The Restart buttons are a nice touch and work well when restarting the services.

Running AMPPS

To run AMPPS, simply enter localhost/ampps into your browser’s URL field.

AMPPS presents you with a rich set of options for script installations: PHP, javascript, and Perl (ok, there is only one application under Perl – Movable Type)

You can choose various applications to install from the left hand side (boxed in RED).

There is a menu bar in the top right (boxed in GREEN).

In the center are presented various options and information (boxed in BLUE).

Near the top left, you can select which script packages you are interested in (boxed in YELLOW).

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This tutorial assumes that you have XAMPP 1.7.3 installed.

The procedure should be the same for other versions of XAMPP.

A XAMPP installation procedure for Windows XP can be found here.

Click on images for full sized versions.

(1) Enter http://localhost/phpmyadmin into your browser’s URL field. This will bring you to the phpmyadmin main page.

 (2) Select the database to which to add a new user by clicking on it:

(3) Click on the Privileges tab:

(4) Click on Add a new user:

 (5) Fill in the user information:

User Name: Leave the dropdown selection as Use text field and enter a user name in the edit box on the right side. A user name may be a maximum of 16 characters in length. The MySql documentation recommends using only ASCII characters in the name. It would probably be safest to restrict yourself to lowercase letters, uppercase letters, and / or digits.

Host: since this is for XAMPP, select Local from the dropdown box.

Password: if you want the user to have a password, then leave the selection in the dropdown box as Use text field and enter a password (up to 16 characters, composed of letters and / or digits) into the edit box on the right. If you don’t want the user to have a password (for the password to be blank) then select No Password from the dropdown box. Alternatively, you can allow the system to generate a password for you (remember it or write it down, since you will need to pass that password on to applications that need it).

(6) Leave all other settings as they are.

You can now use this user name and password instead of root and no password when you configure the database information for applications like Joomla! or WordPress.

The post Adding a New User to a MySql database in XAMPP appeared first on Complete, Concrete, Concise.

This is NOT recommended!

By default, databases in XAMPP are created with the user root having a blank password. This poses a security risk if the computer or database are publically accessible. However, for local development and testing, this should not be a problem.

This tutorial assumes that you have XAMPP 1.7.3 installed.

The procedure should be the same for other versions of XAMPP.

A XAMPP installation procedure for Windows XP can be found here.

WARNING: you will need to update your phpmyadmin configuration file to login using the new password, otherwise you will no longer be able to use phpmyadmin.

Even if you assign a password to root, someone can still gain access to it by inspecting the phpmyadmin configuration file (where the password is plainly visible).

Click on images for full sized versions.

Assigning a password to ‘root ‘

(1) Enter http://localhost/phpmyadmin into your browser’s URL field. This will bring you to the phpmyadmin main page.

(2) Click on the Privileges tab:

(3) Click on the icon in the Action column:

  (4) Scroll down to the password section:

Enter a password and retype it to confirm it. Click on Go to accept it.

A password should be composed of basic ASCII characters (‘a’..’z’, ‘A’..’Z’, and “0’..’9’). Numerous forums report errors trying to use other ASCII characters.

There is no mention in the MySql documentation of maximum password length. The Generate Password function generates passwords of 16 characters in length, so it is reasonable to assume this is the maximum.

Password Hashing:

MySql 4.1+ will generate a 41 byte password hash (MySql does not store the actual password, it stores an encrypted 41 byte hash of the password. When it verifies your password, it encrypts it and checks the encryption against the stored hash, if they match the password is accepted. This is more secure because the hash is not reversible, i.e. you cannot discover the password by reversing the encryption process). Unless you require backwards compatibility with older database engines, leave MySql 4.1+ selected.

MySql 4.0 compatible will generate a 16 byte password hash (MySql does not store the actual password, it stores an encrypted 16 byte hash of the password. When it verifies your password, it encrypts it and checks the encryption against the stored hash, if they match the password is accepted. This is more secure because the hash is not reversible, i.e. you cannot discover the password by reversing the encryption process).

Generate Password:

Alternately, you may allow MySql to generate a password for you by clicking on the Generate button. It generates a 16 character password. (Just make sure you write it down somewhere.) You still have to click on Go to accept it.

Don’t forget to update any applications using this database to use the new password!

Updating the phpmyadmin Configuration File

(1) Locate the file config.inc.php. This will be found in your XAMPP 1.7.3 directory under the folder phpmyadmin (in my case, this is D:\xampp\phpmyadmin – since I installed XAMPP to my D-drive. In most installs, it will be located in the C-drive).

(2) Open the file config.inc.php with a plain text editor (such as notepad – I used notepad++).

(3) Find the following two lines:

On the line with first line (the one with {'password'} in it, enter your password between the two single quotes on the right side.

On the next line (the one with {'AllowNoPassword'} in it, change the true to false.

(4) Save the file.

This is not recommended!

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This tutorial assumes that you have XAMPP 1.7.3 installed.

The procedure should be the same for other versions of XAMPP.

A XAMPP installation procedure for Windows XP can be found here.

Click on images for full sized versions.

(1) Enter http://localhost/phpmyadmin into your browser’s URL field. This will bring you to the phpmyadmin main page.

(2) Click on the Databases tab.  This will bring you to a page listing all your databases.

(3) Select the databases you wish to drop by clicking on the checkbox next to them. Then click on the drop icon located below the databases

cdcol is the cd collection sample database that comes with XAMPP – it is safe to delete, if you like, just be WARNED that the application will no longer work.

information_schema is a necessary database for XAMPP to run correctly. Do NOT delete it. (You shouldn’t be able to select it, anyway.)

mysql is another essential database for XAMPP to run correctly. Do NOT delete it. (You shouldn’t be able to select it, anyway.)

phpmyadmin is essential for phpmyadmin to run correctly. Do NOT delete it. Unfortunately, it is possible for you to select this – DON’T.

All other databases are the ones you created and are safe to delete if you wish. WARNING: deleting a database will render the application it was created for inoperable.

(4) Confirm you wish to delete the databases listed and click on Yes.

The term drop is used with databases because, typically, they do not actually delete the database or fields or records, but rather mark them not to be used, i.e. dropped from use.

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This tutorial assumes that you have XAMPP 1.7.3 installed. The procedure should be the same for other versions of XAMPP.

A XAMPP installation procedure for Windows can be found here.

Click on images for full sized versions.

Many applications, such as Joomla! require an SQL database as part of their setup.

With XAMPP installed, this is easy to do.

1) Open your browser and enter http://localhost/phpmyadmin. This will bring you to the MySQL setup page:

2) Enter a name for the database, then click on the Create button. The name must be 64 characters or less and composed of letters, numbers and underscores. Avoid using numbers at the start of the name. A good name should indicate the purpose of the database. For example: joomla_database or database_for_drupal. There should be no need to change the other settings:

3) Ensure the database was successfully created:

This database can now be used by any application that requires a MySQL database – for example, Joomla!.

By default, the username for this database is root and the password is blank (there is none).

The post Creating a MySQL Database using XAMPP appeared first on Complete, Concrete, Concise.

These instructions are for installing XAMPP 1.7.3 on Windows XP, Service Pack 3. It should work for other configurations as well.

XAMPP 1.7.4 (released in January 2011). I had no problem with the install and most things work just fine, however, there are many little things that require “expert” tinkering to get it working right. Because of this, I cannot recommend it to someone just looking for a straightforward install with minimal tinkering. See also this discussion thread at Apache Friends which covers in more detail the various issues.

XAMPP 1.7.7 (released in Septemeber 2011) is the latest version. I had no problem with the install and most things work just fine, however, there are many little things that require “expert” tinkering to get it working right (it is much stricter on PHP errors than 1.7.3 is – a flag change to fix that). Because of this, I cannot recommend it to someone just looking for a straightforward install with minimal tinkering. It has a new phpmyadmin interface (unfortunately, it defaults to German – easily changed, though). It still exludes the port checker present in version 1.7.3 (which is a really useful debug tool).

Click on images for full sized versions.

XAMPP is an extremely easy to install and use Apache Server which comes bundled with MySQL (a database), PHP (server side scripting language), Perl (another server side scripting language), FileZilla FTP Server and Mercury Mail Transport System.

Why would I want to install it?

To allow development and testing on your local machine instead of on a remote (and probably live) server. I use it to test out changes to my website before uploading and committing changes to the real site.

Installation

Download the self extracting package, run it and, in most cases, accept the default settings.

Downloading

1) Go to the SourceForge website and select xampp-win32-1.7.3.exe to download XAMP (this is the self extracting version with the built-in installer):

2) You will be redirected to a download page. If the download does not start in a few seconds, click on the direct download link:

3) Select to either Save the file or to Run it directly over the Internet. Saving allows you to uninstall and reinstall if necessary:

Extracting

4)  Enter the location to extract XAMPP into. By default, it selects the C:\ drive. I entered my D:\ drive because I have more space there. [NOTE: XAMPP will automatically create a folder called \XAMPP in the directory you specify, having C:\ as your install folder will result in XAMPP being installed in C:\XAMPP\]. Click on the Install button:

Configuring

The XAMPP installation will ask a few configuration questions. It should be safe to accept the defaults.

5) Enter y and press the Enter / Return key for the prompt: Should I add shortcuts to the startmenu/desktop? (y/n): y

6) Enter y and press the Enter / Return key for the prompt:

Should I locate the XAMPP paths correctly?

Should I proceed? (y/x=exit setup): y

7) Enter n and press the Enter / Return key for the prompt:

Should I make a portable XAMPP without drive letters?

NOTE: – You should use drive letters, if you want use services.
      – With USB sticks you must not use drive letters.

Your choice? (y/n): n

8) Press the Enter / Return key for the prompt:

XAMPP is ready to use.

Press to continue:

9) Press the Enter / Return key for the prompt:

I have set the timezone in ‘php.ini’ and ‘my.ini’ to “America/New_York”.

You should correct these values if my guess was wrong.

Press to continue:

10) Enter 1 and press the Enter / Return key for the prompt: Please choose (1-7/x): 1. This will start the XAMPP control panel:

Setting Up

11) Click the two check boxes labelled Svc located next to the Apache and MySQL labels. This will install both services for you:

12) Press OK when prompted to install the Apache Service and MySQL service:

13) Observe that the services are now running. If the services are not running, then you need to manually start them. See step (14).

14) If the Apache and MySql services did not start when you installed them, then click on the Start button beside each service. NOTE: The Apache service can take several seconds to start and the application may look as though it is hung – just wait. If the Apache service does not start, see Troubleshooting below.

Testing The Installation

XAMPP is now setup and ready to use on your computer.

To test, launch your browser and enter:

http://localhost

into your navigation bar. You should see the following display:

Troubleshooting

Sometimes the Apache Server will not run. This is most often caused by some other application using port 80 (the http port).

1) Click on Port-Check to see if any other applications or services are using port 80.

2) A console window will appear and XAMPP PortCheck will run. Sample results are shown in the image below. In this case, uTorrent is using port 80 and preventing Apache Server from running. The solution is to either shutdown uTorrent or change its configuration to use a different port.

The more common cause is that Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) is running. Instructions for disabling the IIS can be found here.

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