Cannot Set variables for INNODB tables for 4.0.18

[Patricia Thomson]

I am using the MySQL 4.0.18 version which was provided with SUSE Linux. I want to create INNODB tables (TYPE= INNODB), but INNODB does not appear to be enabled. According to the doc, this should be enabled by default -- but it is not.

"Beginning with MySQL 4.0, InnoDB is enabled by default, so the following information applies only to MySQL 3.23. "

When I show variables -- have_innodb is set to NO. I have no success is setting it to YES and have seen this mentioned in other lists -- but no solution offered. Next, I tried modifying the my.cnf file. This file contains instructions regarding what to uncomment if you want to use INNODB tables. I uncommented as shown below. When I issue the command to stop the service, I get a the error message: mysqld: ERROR: unknown variable 'innodb_data_home_dir=/var/lib/mysql/'

Any guidance appreciated.

mysql> show variables like '%innodb%'
-> ;
+---------------+-------+
| Variable_name | Value |
+---------------+-------+
| have_innodb | NO |
+---------------+-------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> set have_innodb=YES;
ERROR 1193: Unknown system variable 'have_innodb'


portion of my.cnf file:
# Uncomment the following if you are using InnoDB tables
innodb_data_home_dir = /var/lib/mysql/
innodb_data_file_path = ibdata1:10M:autoextend
innodb_log_group_home_dir = /var/lib/mysql/
innodb_log_arch_dir = /var/lib/mysql/
# You can set .._buffer_pool_size up to 50 - 80 %
# of RAM but beware of setting memory usage too high
innodb_buffer_pool_size = 16M
innodb_additional_mem_pool_size = 2M
# Set .._log_file_size to 25 % of buffer pool size
innodb_log_file_size = 5M
innodb_log_buffer_size = 8M
innodb_flush_log_at_trx_commit = 1
innodb_lock_wait_timeout = 50