PHPNuke set's up the database automatically
there is a .sql file in the sql directory. You can either import that file, or if your using PHPMyAdmin, you can import the file, or copy paste the command into the database. Once it's in there, all you need to do is configure phpnuke so that is has the username, password, and database you want to use. If you need any more help, just let me know, oyaketu@aol.com, i was actually going to use phpnuke myself, but I figured I could make a website myself before I could figure they're code out enough for me to modify it to do what I needed it to do.