Installing MySQL on Windows

By Michael J. Ross
2008-02-28


Downloading MySQL

The first step in installing MySQL is to obtain the installation file from the MySQL downloads page. For this tutorial, we will be using the most recent stable version, which is 5.0.51a, as of this writing.

The page compares the differences between the two editions of MySQL — the free Community edition, and the Enterprise edition, which has a license fee of $595 per year. Any reader of this tutorial will most likely have the technical expertise to work with this database system without paying for help. Click on the "Download" button for the Community Server. This brings you further down the page, to the list of supported platforms (i.e., operating systems that it will run on), which include 32-bit and 64-bit Windows, several different Linux distros, Solaris, FreeBSD, Mac OS X, and a few others. (Not all are shown in the figure below.)

Immediately underneath that list is the section for "Windows downloads", providing three options: the MSI package, the ZIP package, and the installer-free package. Most readers should choose the first option, "Windows Essentials (x86)", which uses the Windows MSI Installer. If your PC's Windows does not have the MSI Installer, then you can choose the second option, "Windows ZIP/Setup.EXE (x86)". Each row in the section lists the MD5 signature, and has a link to the PGP signature, if you are interested in verifying the integrity of the installation file after you have downloaded it.

Click the appropriate "Download" link. The MySQL Web site might request your personal contact information, but that is optional. A dialog box will allow you to choose a destination for the installation file on your PC.

Tutorial Pages:
» Introduction
» MySQL Already Installed?
» Downloading MySQL
» Installing MySQL
» Configuring MySQL
» Verifying MySQL
» More Resources

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