phpBB 2.0.20

Building a Web Server, for Windows

Requirements

Apache 2.0
PHP 4.4
[while it is possible to run phpBB under PHP5 -- officially: running phpBB 2.0.x with PHP5 is not supported]
MySQL 4.0;
MySQL 4.1/5.0 in combination with PHP's extension 'php_mysql.dll' (the only PHP MySQL extension phpBB2 supports) will require the use of MySQL 'old_password()' function -- for phpBB's database user password
[It is recommended to only use MySQL v4.0 or v4.1 -- MySQL v5.0 requires minor changes to phpBB2 and the combination is still relatively new]
Notes:
- phpBB2 uses PHP extension 'php_mysql.dll' and not 'php_mysqli.dll' -- make sure that under php.ini, PHP extension 'php_mysql.dll' is present and uncommented (under PHP v4, 'php_mysql.dll' support is built in).
- If using MySQL 5.0, under phpBB, edit file 'install/schemas/mysql_schema.sql'...
  find and replace bbcode_uid char(10) NOT NULL,
  with bbcode_uid char(10) DEFAULT '' NOT NULL,

Download

Package(full package) : Select from mirror phpBB-2.0.20.zip

Our Configuration

Install to : C:\www\phpBB2
[note that phpBB2 will be placed outside of Apache's webroot]
Access phpBB2 index/forums as : http://localhost/forums/
Apache's path : C:\www\Apache2
Apache's webroot : C:\www\webroot
MySQL's path : C:\www\mysql
phpBB's MySQL info...
- database name : phpBB2
- database's username : phpBB2user
- database's username password : dbpassword
- [note to substitute each occurrence of this password under this Guide, for your own alternative]
- database's table prefix: phpbb_
phpBB's Admin info...
- Administrator Username: admin
- Administrator Password: adminpassword
- [note to substitute each occurrence of this password under this Guide, for your own alternative]

Setup phpBB's MySQL database and user

Access the MySQL prompt...
- C:\www\mysql\bin> mysql -u root -p
- [note that if password for MySQL user 'root' has not been set; when prompted for the password, leave line blank and hit Enter]
Create database 'phpBB2' (phpBB's main database, which will hold all tables)...
- mysql> CREATE DATABASE phpBB2;
Create secured account with user 'phpBB2user' and password 'dbpassword' (secured account -- only accessible from 'localhost', access permitted only to database 'phpBB2', only needed privileges granted)...
- mysql> GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, INDEX, ALTER, CREATE, DROP ON phpBB2.* TO 'phpBB2user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'dbpassword';
- [note password 'dbpassword' -- substitute in selected alternative]
- [note that DROP is only required for database restores, and ALTER is only required for certain modules and future upgrades]
- When using MySQL 4.1/5.0 with PHP MySQL extension 'php_mysql.dll', the password created for MySQL user 'phpBB2user' will need to be re-processed with a MySQL v4.0 hashing algorithm -- phpBB2 can only use extension php_mysql [over extension php_mysqli] which does not contain the new/improved authentication protocol that is used by MySQL 4.1/5.0...
  mysql> SET PASSWORD FOR 'phpBB2user'@'localhost' = OLD_PASSWORD('dbpassword');
- [again, note password 'dbpassword']
- mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
- mysql> quit;

Configuration for Apache 2.0

Edit file C:\www\Apache2\conf\httpd.conf; uncomment line (remove the beginning character '#')...
- LoadModule alias_module modules/mod_alias.so
Edit file C:\www\Apache2\conf\httpd.conf; insert code...
- <IfModule mod_alias.c> Alias /forums "C:/www/phpBB2" </IfModule>
- <Directory "C:/www/phpBB2"> Options None AllowOverride None order allow,deny allow from all AddType text/html .php AddHandler application/x-httpd-php .php </Directory>
Make sure the 'DirectoryIndex' line has 'index.php' appened to it...
DirectoryIndex index.html index.php
Restart Apache

Setup

Unpack as C:\www\phpBB-2.0.20
Rename directory C:\www\phpBB-2.0.20 to C:\www\phpBB2
Start (or restart) Apache at this point, for httpd.conf changes to take effect.
Visit http://localhost/forums/install/install.php and fill out all the requested information, then select "Start Install"...
- Basic Configuration
  - Default board language: English
  - Database Type: MySQL 4.x
  - [Select 'MySQL 4.x' regardless of MySQL version]
  - Choose your installation method: Install
- Database Configuration
  - Database Server Hostname / DSN: localhost
  - Your Database Name: phpBB2
  - Database Username: phpBB2user
  - Database Password: dbpassword
  - [note password 'dbpassword' -- substitute in selected alternative]
  - Prefix for tables in database: phpbb_
- Admin Configuration
  - Admin Email Address: admin@localhost
  - Domain Name: localhost
  - Server Port: 80
  - Script path: /forums/
  - Administrator Username: admin
  - Administrator Password: adminpassword
  - [note password 'adminpassword' -- substitute in selected alternative]
  - Administrator Password [ Confirm ]: adminpassword
At this point you should see a screen with the following text...
- Your admin username has been created. At this point your basic installation is complete. You will now be taken to a screen which will allow you to administer your new installation. Please be sure to check the General Configuration details and make any required changes. Thank you for choosing phpBB 2.
- Before selecting "Finish Installation", the following directories must be deleted...
  - C:\www\phpBB2\install
  - C:\www\phpBB2\contrib
  - [optional] C:\www\phpBB2\docs

Testing

Access URL http://localhost/forums

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phpBB 2.0.20

Building a Web Server, for Windows

Requirements

Download

Our Configuration

Setup phpBB's MySQL database and user

Configuration for Apache 2.0

Setup

Testing