Getting Started

[JohnW_Super]

I setup a forum, v2.0.12, logged in via the "Admin Login" button, setup myself as a user, and started reading the manual.

It says there is an "Admin Center" and that's where you find all the other stuff. But it doesn't say where that is. It doesn't look like I am an admin, maybe?

[Kindred]

what "admin login" button?  There is no such button in a standard SMF installation.

[JohnW_Super]

I setup the site using my VirtualAvenue management system for my page. It was an option in what they called the "Mojo Marketplace", with lots of other things I could install.
The setup appeared there, with a button "Admin Login". Is there some other way to get in as Admin?

Do I need to get back to that Simple Machines page?

[d3vcho]

Hello!

We do not recommend using a third party software to install SMF, since they can modify as they want our original files. Your best option will be to upload via FTP our files (download.simplemachines.org) and setup your forum. It's not hard, you can follow this: Installing SMF.

Regards

[JohnW_Super]

Okay. So I have the database, I can login as admin and I'm running <mysite>/install.php
I'm not understanding something about the Database Server Settings. If I use either the database user I setup, or my login to my site admin, I get a connection error. I don't have a separate login for mySQL. "localhost" doesn't seem right either, since I'm not local to it.

[Kindred]

the database user has nothing at all to do with your smf admin account...  not probably with your hosting admin account. you should set up database user...   and localhost is almost always correct, except on godaddy

[JohnW_Super]

That's what's I'm having trouble understanding. If I'm coming in via the internet, but I only give the install my mySQL password, how does it get through the site security? I don't seem to have anything where I'm running PHP from within my site. Maybe I broke something, because now I get

Connection Problems

Sorry, SMF was unable to connect to the database. This may be caused by the server being busy. Please try again later.

at <myforum>/index.php

Thanks for your help. I've done lots of things with computers locally, but never remotely.

[Kindred]

the database and php installation of SMF scripts are typically on the same server.

that message means that you have not configured the database connection correctly

And you need more than the db password.
you need a db user, dbuser password, the database name and the db server (typically localhost, unless you are on godaddy)

you need to have created the database and database user with full db access BEFORE running install.php

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Localhost does not work on other hosts besides GoDaddy (Hostcentric, iPower, 1and1, just a few I've worked on).

If you can't get it, pm your host access (url/username/password) and I'll have a look.

[JohnW_Super]

the database and php installation of SMF scripts are typically on the same server.

that message means that you have not configured the database connection correctly

And you need more than the db password.
you need a db user, dbuser password, the database name and the db server (typically localhost, unless you are on godaddy)

you need to have created the database and database user with full db access BEFORE running install.php

Edit: **** Just got through ***

Server name is <mysubdomain>.virtualavemysql.com

Earlier message
I created the database, and user with full access using the hxxp:virtualave.net [nonactive] tools. I can see the tables. It even came up. There was just no way to administer it. So I started the install.php, like you said, Step 3: Database settings asks for this:

Server name: localhost
Username: <mySQL database username>
Password: <mySQL database password>
Database name: <mySQL database, that I setup at milepost100 within hxxp:virtualave.net [nonactive]>
Table prefix: oli_, that's what I see in that database I created.

But I don't see how this connects to mySQL without knowing how to connect to hxxp:virtualave.net [nonactive]. I logged into that in another window, but that doesn't seem to matter.

The connection error is:

Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock' (2)

[JohnW_Super]

Edit: **** Now that I understand how to ask the question, I found the answer ****

http://wiki.simplemachines.org/smf/Administration_-_I_accidentally_lost_my_admin_account!_What_can_I_do

Once I did that, I refreshed my page and "Admin" showed up as a menu option.

Thanks for all the help. Very much appreciate the community

************************

So, I'm back to my original question. I have a working forum, but since I didn't do the install in the correct order, using the wizard to set up the admin user, I don't have an admin user. From the error I just got, it appears that an admin user is just another user, but something flags that user as an admin, maybe in the MEMBERS table for instance?

[Sir Osis of Liver]

id_group in smf_members is '1' for admins.