Installing MySQL on Windows

Once you have successfully downloaded the Windows version, installing it on the operating system a breeze… trust me! It may seem intimidating if you are a beginner, but by following the directions down to a T you will have the database application up and running.

The installation steps detailed on this page have be tested on Win95 and Win98 using mysql-shareware-3_22_34-win.zip. Yes, these are old!

Update for Windows 7 users: For step-by-step instructions, please check the page on how to install MySQL on Windows 7.

1. Create a temporary directory called mysqltem.
2. Unzip the file to this directory.
3. After unzipping is over, you’ll find a file called “setup.exe”.
4. Close all programs
5. Click on Start – Run and browse to the setup file in mysqltem.
6. Click “OK” to proceed
7. The setup program loads and guides you through the installation process.
8. Choose the “Typical” installation, unless you know what you want!
9. MySQL would be installed in c:\mysql (unless you specified some other directory).
10. Restart Windows.
11. Start an MS-DOS session and migrate to c:\mysql\bin
12. Now, type the following at the prompt:

    mysqld-shareware --standalone
    
    OR (in later versions)
    mysqld
    

    This starts the MySQL server.

13. Type “mysql” (without the quotes) at the DOS prompt.
14. The prompt is changed to the “mysql” prompt.
15. To test the MySQL server, type “show databases;” at the prompt.
16. This should display something like:

    +----------------+
    | Database       |
    +----------------+
    | mysql          |
    | test           |
    +----------------+
    2 rows in set (0.00 sec)
    

    If you see the above… congrats… you have sucessfully installed MySQL on your system.

17. Type “quit” at the mysql prompt.
18. You are now back to the MS-DOS prompt.
19. Since our work is done (for the time being), we should shut the MySQL server. Issue the following command at the prompt.

    mysqladmin -u root shutdown