How the heck does this even work !?!?

[davecason]

Hi,

I'm trying to build a forum for fun .... I built it on an old 2003 Server and it was OK till I re-booted it.

Now it runs really slow and in a text format, it was all GUI and pretty in the browser on the local servers console in IE 8  .... now not much. 
I was searching around to try to fix it and found a link to something called Admin Centre.  So OK I went to the on line manual to look at it,

This is crazy !!  Here's the main page, I'm looking at the page called SMF2.0:Administration_ Centre .... Uhm, how do you get in to, run, or open it!?!?!

I really don't get how this is written below  !?!?   LOOK !!!

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The Administration Center is the control area for the entire forum, allowing the facilitation management on all aspects of the forum broken down into the Main, Configuration, Forum, Members, and Maintenance sections. Administrators and membergroups with required permissions will be granted access, and if configured will ask for re-authentication before entry.

The Administration Center is the home page of your admin panel. From here, you can change any settings on your forum, ranging from membergroups to board customisation.

The first two sections on this page are the "Live information from Simple Machines" and "Support Information" panels.

The "Live from Simple Machines" panel is used to allow administrators of the forum to keep up-to-date with important information regarding updates, bug fixes, and security issues. The news here is loaded daily onto this page.

"Support Information" is used to collect data, files, and the version from the forum. This information can be useful in diagnosing issues in a support thread at the Simple Machines Community Forum. Selecting the more detailed listing will present a list of files and their exact version.

Below the live information panels in the Administration Center, forum management is broken down into separate sections, allowing easier administration of the forum. There is a more detailed menu located either above, or to the side of, the live panels (depending on the forum's configuration).

A small search box is also present. It allows you to search the administration section for a setting or specific member profile. It also allows you to search the old documentation site for help and support.
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Where in all this written crap does it tell you how to actually start, launch, or use the "Admin Centre"  !?!?  Am I missing something here !?!? 

I'm reading the main support page for this software but it's not telling me anything, it's like a car manual telling me how fast it will go but not telling
me how to put the key in the ignation .......  Is there a STEP by STEP document that tell me what to do .....??


When I was reading the manual on line about hte instal;l it said here is 6 steps on what you need to do.

- Create a database - ok how?
- Get SMF  - that one works - here s the site D/l it ......
- Extract it - OK, I know hwo so that part was ok I guess.
- Set permission - yea I've done that .....

I guess my point is why did anybody bother to write this ?  A manual to me says step one, step two, etc.
Like here: here's the manual on how to paint a room  a: paint that room   - Thanks for reading!

Not like this ....

Painting a room:

A - choose the paint
       -oil
       -latex
       -alcyd
B- get a paint brush
       - stright cut
       - taper

Etc

I guess this progam is for people who have been doing website and graphics for years who know about php and building sites etc .............
If you're a noob what do you do !?!?

Cheers'
Dave

[Lexi P]

I guess this progam is for people who have been doing website and graphics for years who know about php and building sites etc .............

Hundreds of thousands of people use this software and I am sure very few of them are experts or have been doing it for years.
I am brand new at forums, in fact smf is my first experience with any online program and it's really not that hard. I have zero php, html or database experience. Its all alien language to me but I read only the "Installing" section of the manual and had my first forums up and running within 30 minutes.

http://wiki.simplemachines.org/smf/Main_Page

Good luck. 

[azasmith]

If you're logged in as an admin, you'll see a link to the admin panel in your navigation, whether your site is loading properly or not. If you're not logged in you won't see it.

The guide is legible as is to me, it's an SMF installation guide, not a MySQL guide. If you don't know how to create a MySQL database, the MySQL website would have a guide that tells you how to do that. Alternatively google will have a plethora of information devoted to how to set up any database on any server configuration.

Your paint analogy lacks steps too, where's the bit where you recommend masking off skirting boards, or removing pets from the room so they don't leave paw prints on your carpet? Which brush should I use and why? You can't cater for every eventuality out of your control in online manuals. It's like you're selling the paint and someone asking you where to buy the wall.

I'm not sure what the technical restraints are on smf and I've never tried installing on server 03, so I won't be much help there. It could be theme related, could try this as it's only for fun you won't have any mods etc installed yet: http://wiki.simplemachines.org/smf/How_to_upload_a_fresh_set_of_files

If it's not that then it will require the attention of someone more akin with server 03.

Hope this helps.

[Lexi P]

Not to mention, if you are willing to use a standard web host such as godaddy, hostgator, etc, most will have an auto install program for smf. Just a few clicks and your done.

[Illori]

Not to mention, if you are willing to use a standard web host such as godaddy, hostgator, etc, most will have an auto install program for smf. Just a few clicks and your done.

and not always do they use the most updated version of smf, and at times may include things users dont need like all the language files. it is easier for the support team here if you do a clean install from our source provided on this site.

[Lexi P]

Not to mention, if you are willing to use a standard web host such as godaddy, hostgator, etc, most will have an auto install program for smf. Just a few clicks and your done.

and not always do they use the most updated version of smf, and at times may include things users dont need like all the language files. it is easier for the support team here if you do a clean install from our source provided on this site.

Correct. But once installed updating is just as easy. I just tried a test site with hostgator and it installed 2.0.6. It took only 30 seconds or so to install and the update to 2.0.7 took about the same. In just over one minute i had a fully functional up to date smf install. I also checked the language files and the only files are those that came with smf, no extras.

[davecason]

Oh yea, I get that my point was I find the "instructions" very odd.  I dunno, maybe it's me. (grin)

I know I can use a hosted site and be up in minutes but the point of this was just to try it - although on an older beasty of a server, I have no doubt that any of the hosted guys it would  be a case of click and yer done.

I guess the question is can it run on an old Dell SC1420 with 4 GB and 410 GB of mirrored disk?  If not, MEH, maybe
I'll make a cheapy file server  or something ......

I'm trying to find some help on ho how to read the install instructions because again my pint was/is I don't get them,
and as for the crappy paint a room analogy that's kind of my point I find the install instructions lacking detail.

So I'll keep poking along .... so can any of you guys suggest where I post my questions too in the forum?  My issue is that during the install when I was on the servers browser and looking at localhost - it was very pretty and looked great but some how it's converted back to an old text only mode.

Feel free to have a look - it's just me farting around trying to make a site for fun.  It's at address 68.145.231.25
I did read a bit about it needed something called LIBGP but couldn't find that for the Win 32 ver its running on. 

Any suggestions other then turning the box in to a boat anchor ..... ? :-)

Cheers'
Dave

[davecason]

Hey Lexi,

Yep, I've seen that page plenty o' times  ......and followed it exactly ......

        Know your Database
        Download the most recent version of SMF
        Upload Files to your Server
        Set File Permissions
        Run the SMF Installer

So ignoring all that and how odd I find the verbage ...... can you make a suggestion as to where it would be a good place to post my main question?  It's just all funky looking and text based now, and its running painfully slow but like I said before when I first got it going it was great and looked like the stock sites you've probably seen a billion times.

Do you think it's worth a shot running the SMF installer program one more time ?  There's nothing in the site to worry about crashing .....

Cheers'
Dave

[vbgamer45]

Yes it can run on your server Dell SC1420 with 4 GB and 410 GB of mirrored disk
As long as you have php/mysql/ and webserver either iis/or apache setup.

[davecason]

Yep,l I thought so ......

Well the IIS was easy enough to get going.

I then installed mySQL and kept the login and password and the name of the DB.
I even tossed on the workbench software to check it.

Then I added the php and put it dutifully ion C:\php and got it going and lastly
added in the SMF and ran the installer.

I just don't know why it now painfully slow and in text mode, so you don't think I
need to worry about that lib GP software ?

Cheers'
Dave