Re: Can't get MySQL 5.5 to install on Windows 7

[Chris Besant]

Hee, hee, Kerry, a bit frustrated, eh?

This is just a matter of the configuration wizard not being fully regression tested with all options. The authentication_string thing is very minor -- they just need to update a couple of INSERT statements in the code. The shared data file ib_logfile0 collision, the lack of cleanup of that on uninstall, and the failure to heed the user's input for using a different data directory will likely take a bit more to address, but it too is relatively trivial and the manual work-around is simple (and was simple to figure out.)

The authentication_string bug apparently showed up in 5.5.7. It only happens when one leaves the default of enforcing strict mode and checks one or both of "allow root access from remote" or "add anonymous user." Those last two are the circumstances that cause an INSERT that bombs due to lacking a value for the authentication_string column.

The shared data directory deal is a Windows phenomenon only. Linux is the primary target for MySQL. I support MySQL on both Linux and Windows, and historically I've found the Windows installations tend to be a bit rough in the early releases of new major versions.

Don't be too strong about it -- these bugs are pretty simple and as you've found people figure them out pretty fast and get the info and fixes posted here and on other forums pretty quickly. I have found MySQL to be one of the best examples of open source in action. IMO, Oracle has done a good job of keeping the forums and bug submission sites open, unfettered, and responsive.

Also, I've done some serious benchmarking work with the 5.5 RC engines, and this is a major performance improvement. I'm positively excited to be deploying it in my production environment -- that's why I've been working all weekend as a matter of fact.

I don't mean to diss you, Kerry, but if you find this to be a vexing problem, I'm afraid you are in for a rude awakening in database land. Particularly if you are using the community edition and not paying for support. If you find these relatively trivial problems so vexing, I wonder what you are going to do when you have a database in production and it blows up? That's when things get really interesting :-)

I have a few suggestions for you if you're not willing to pay for support:
1. Fall back to MySQL 5.1.x. It's had over 50 releases now, and it's as stable as MySQL ever gets.

2. Consider watching the XAMPP project. It's run by people involved in the Apache organization. They add further testing to MySQL, particularly in the web environment, and when they select a version of MySQL to roll into the XAMPP distro, you can be sure it's been shaken out independantly of the MySQL organization.

3. Don't ever assume that you can just download the very latest version of some database and have no issues on installation. To the contrary, you should expect issues, particularly in the first few GA releases of a major new version. It takes a few cycles for things to stabilize. If you can't deal with minor issues like this, google the release number, particularly this forum and the bugs database at bugs.mysql.com to see what you're getting into. These issues you've been facing were all well publicized and the issues understood within days of 5.5.8 release.