WordPress MU

I have done a lot of research and I can't seem to pinpoint my problem(s).

We are installing wpmu on a virtual server (windows server 2003) using vmware. We are trying to install apache, php and mysql separately instead of using wamp because we don't want to use mysqlite.

It was hard to pinpoint our exact problem and there could be different ones. First, we ran into the problem where we SAW the php code. We got that fixed (not sure how..).

Now we keep getting 500 errors, then we get it to work and it goes to the main install page. However, it will say mod_rewrite is not enabled or active even when we commented out the line in httpd.conf . After we fill in DB info it will say "cannot connect to DB".

The thing is, is that we will refresh the page after a change and it will work. Then we refresh it again and it will give us a 500 page. We have tried adding the host to the hosts file.

Here are my questions:

1.) Could there be a delay in my changes or apache restarts?

2.) Does not having the mod_rewrite working cause DB connection issues?

3.) Are there any directions to install wpmu using separate packages instead of wamp (because I have found some of those).

4.) When we get the "cannot connect to DB" what are the possible problems if we know the DB info is correct. We tried going into wp-config and entering in the info as well.

Thanks for any help.

1. Not sure what you mean. When you restart apache - config changes are immediately applied.

2. No

3. 'install wpmu using separate packages' - what you do mean by this?

4. "cannot connect to DB" means either connection parameters are wrong, or DB server is down.

3. Install wpmu after installing apache, mysql and php individually and not using wamp.

http://trac.mu.wordpress.org/browser/trunk/README.txt

Pay attention to sections about apache and php.

Yes, we have done those things. Hmm, I will try some more troubleshooting. Right now I am trying to install mysql again but it won't let me because I already installed it. I removed the program and manually and did sc mysl delete (said there was no program like that). I suppose this isn't the right forum to get my answer to that question though.

Would it be possible that we did not make the wp-contents and other dirs have the right permissions, or would that not bring up the "cannot connect to db" issue?

did sc mysl delete (said there was no program like that)

sc mysqld delete or sc mysql-nt delete I guess, but not sure :)
Look in task manager and get the process name.
Also, what about add/remove programs? Mysql should be sitting there in the list.
Don't forget to shut down/remove wamp.

Would it be possible that we did not make the wp-contents and other dirs have the right permissions, or would that not bring up the "cannot connect to db" issue?

Nope, perms have nothing to do with 'cannot connect to db'.
Did you actually create a blank database?

we tried once without creating a database then we created an empty db called wordpress.

this dang mysql is SO FRUSTRATING! I removed everything I could find. I was able to successfully use sc delete mysql bc it said success then I did it again and it said there was none. Now I am trying to install it in a different drive and different name. Still can't get it to start the service.

I was able to install it however it gave me

"Notice: Constant DB_NAME already defined in C:\wamp\www\wordpress-mu\wp-config.php on line 21
"

After I submitted my information. it did say successfully. I read on the forums that it is just a warning and not an error. But why did this happen an will it affect anything else? Thanks!

Update: I installed wpmu on a virtual server using wamp on the localhost (local.domain). However, I think I got confused and I was not supposed to use localhost in my process. What is the difference between setting wpmu up on localhost and on something that is accessible to everyone on the web? If it's currently through local host can I just tweak some things - like putting in the server ip address? I did not set up the vhost stuff in apache, I am assuming I need to do this.

Any clarification as to the difference of setup with localhost and on the web woudl be great. It is now on the "localhost" on the server though. I was remoting into the server. Thanks.

Well, you should clarify more. What info did you type in during installation? What do you have in wp-config? What's there in your .htaccess file?