How do I install phpMyAdmin on Windows 7?

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I installed MySQL, PHP and Apache on Windows 7 as per your instructions without any problem. I then tried to install on phpMyAdmin on the same Windows 7 computer using instructions from another web site as I couldn’t locate these on yours. But I haven’t been successful. Can you help me by giving steps to load phpMyAdmin on my PC like you did it for MySQL, PHP and Apache? Thanks and regards.
Rakesh Giri

I’ve been meaning to put the instructions on how to install phpMyAdmin on a Windows 7 computer for some time now. However, it was never really a priority as:

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Anyway, enough of my blabbering, here are the steps you need to follow.

How to install phpMyAdmin on Windows 7 computer

Installation instructions: phpMyAdmin on Windows 7

Before we run through the detailed step by step instructions (below), please note that I’ve assumed you’ve installed PHP, MySQL and Apache as per the instructions I provided in other articles (links at the bottom). This is important. If you haven’t done that, remember to change the directory / folder path accordingly.

  • Download the phpMyAdmin zip archive - English language
  • Create a new folder under the document root. Name it phpmyadmin.
  • Copy all files from the phpmyadmin zip archive to the new folder.
  • It might take a minute to copy all the files
  • Locate the phpMyAdmin config file. It is called config.sample.inc.php. Rename it to config.inc.php.
  • Change one line in the config file.
  • Put a new value for the variable
  • Open the php.ini file in Notepad.
  • Uncomment the mbstring PHP extension.
  • Load the phpMyAdmin page in a browser window.
  • Login with your MySQL username and password.
  1. The first step is to get the phpMyAdmin download file. I chose phpMyAdmin-3.4.5-english.zip from www.phpmyadmin.net/home_page/downloads.php [Slide 1]. I could have downloaded the ‘all languages’ file but English is all I want and will ever use.
  2. Under the document root, which should be C:\websites if you had installed Apache and PHP as per my instructions, create a new folder and name it phpmyadmin [Slide 2].
    Important: The phpMyAdmin files need to be installed in the document root. You might have changed this when setting up Apache – check the web server configuration file, httpd.conf.
  3. Open the folder in which you have downloaded the phpMyAdmin zip archive. Double-click on the file to open it. You would find another folder – double-click on that too till you get the list of files and folders. These form the phpMyAdmin program suite. Select all the files and folders (use the Ctrl-A keyboard shortcut) and then copy everything (right-click and select Copy or use the Ctrl-C shortcut) [Slide 3].
  4. Move to the blank phpmyadmin folder you had created under the document root in step 2 and paste the contents of the clipboard (right-click and choose Paste OR the Ctrl-V shortcut). The files will begin to copy to the destination folder [Slide 4].
  5. As you can gather, phpMyAdmin installation on a Windows 7 computer is a simple matter of unzipping the file to the document root. Now on to configuration (also very easy).
  6. Locate config.sample.inc.php in the phpMyAdmin install folder [Slide 5]. Rename this file to config.inc.php.
  7. Open this file in Notepad and use ‘Find’ (Ctrl-F) to dig out the following line [Slides 6 and 7]:
    $cfg['blowfish_secret'] = ''; /* YOU MUST FILL...
    

    Enter a value of your choice, for example:

    $cfg['blowfish_secret'] = 'ba17c1ec07d65003'; /* YOU MUST...
    

    Save the config.inc.php file and close the Notepad window as its work is done!
    IMPORTANT: If config.inc.php looks like a whole lot of junk, don’t be alarmed. To make the contents more readable, open the file first with WordPad (found under Accessories) and immediately save it without making any changes. Now you can open it in Notepad.

  8. We now need to modify the PHP configuration file – php.ini. You’ll find it in the PHP install folder which would be C:/php if you followed my instructions. Right-click on php.ini and choose to open it in Notepad [Slide 8].
  9. Locate the following line and remove the semi-colon at the beginning [Slide 9]:
    ;extension=php_mbstring.dll
    
  10. Save php.ini file and restart your computer.
  11. Launch a web browser window and point it to http://localhost/phpmyadmin/index.php. You’ll get the login page [Slide 10]. Note: Change the address as per the name of the phpMyAdmin install folder. Login now with your MySQL username and password.
  12. On successful login, you will be displayed the phpMyAdmin dashboard [Slide 11].

Problem faced when installing phpMyAdmin on Windows 7 and how I solved them

The installation steps I detailed above didn’t mention the two small problems. To know more, please refer the following links

Installing Apache, PHP and MySQL

As you know, without MySQL, you’ll have no use for phpMyAdmin. So here are the links on how to install the database application as well as a web server and PHP on your computer:

Answers How Do I MySQL PHP phpMyAdmin