nightmare MySQL installation on linux

[Anon]

whoa...I have no idea what happend. I downloaded the correct rpm's and put them in the directory /usr/local/mysql. I typed rpm -i .rpm. All packages were supposedly installed. So, I tried to test the test db by logging in as root and access was denied. I tried running mysql_install_db to make sure that the root account could log in with no password. Still no access for root. Then I started fishing around and I was under the impression that when mysql is installed it is installed under /usr/local/mysql. But it isn't. So, I decided to uninstall it and start over again. So, I typed rpm -e .rpm and it told me that none of the rpms were installed. So, I tried installing them again and I got the error that they were all already installed. I'm going insane. I realize that I'm not the most experienced linux user. Could somebody help me out????? I would so greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,

Aliza

[[deleted]]

forget all about using things like *.rpm

Install / uninstall each one seperately.

[brandonschnell]

ignore where the actual rpm files are located. they can be anywhere.

mysql rpm seem to install the databases into /var/lib/mysql. check to be sure the databases are there, the permissions are correct on the database files, and nothing obvious is in the log/err files. restart mysql after you're finished to be sure the changes go into effect.

are you trying to start mysql client using:

mysql -u root

?

[Anon]

Aliza,
Your not going crazy, been there myself. First lets start with the uninstall. Use rpm -qa | grep mysql to see which packages are installed. The uninstall should then be "rpm -e mysql*" don't put the .rpm on the end or you can uninstall each package using "rpm -e mysql-3.23.41-1.rpm" and so forth for each package. As to the install, check the above messages. You might check out the MySQL.com site, very good documentation, MySQL Reference Manual. I believe it states that went the type of error you seeing comes up, you could have a problem with your host file as well.
Good luck and have fun!
Waggoner