Foo - Help me install a phpBB forum on my site - Stupid errors!

I'm building a site and I'm trying to install the "new" phpBB 3.0 forum which is really just a stable release of their previous 3.0 version. The instructions are simple enough. Download the file, unzip it to your hard drive. Upload the files onto my server, configure the config.php permissions, run www.yoursite.com/forum/install/install.php and go from there.

I can't get past the upload process for some reason. I've tried uploading the files using cuteFTP and SmartFTP. Both times I had transfer type to Auto instead of manual binary or ASCII. When I try to upload in cuteFTP some files will give me a "Child Transfer Failed" error or tell me connection closed on those files and upload failed.

In SmartFTP it tells me the upload was successful, but there are some lines of upload history that are red which say things like, "[19:35:45] 550 /forum/styles/prosilver/template/ucp_pm_viewmessage_print.html: No such file.
[19:35:45] File size check (SIZE) failed. File not found or permission denied."

What am I doing wrong? I've also tried unzipping the downloaded file in two different programs. Both uploads of those unzipped files produced similar results.

My host is crystaltech.com who does support MySQL and php.

Ughhhhh. I should have been foruming days ago.

Oh and when I go to the www.yoursite.com/forum/install/install.php after I've uploaded the files it tells me the page can not be found.

i hate ftp. any way u dont use it?

Are you asking me? I use ftp. You have to. Im trying smartftp and cuteftp to upload.

It might just be something simple like a bad download. I would erase everything on your server. Re-download phpBB 3.0, unzip and re-upload. Being Windows, I don't think it would be a permission thing.

Edit, don't erase everything on your server, just the phpBB parts.

Don't worry I'm not deleting everything. Besides, there isn't anything to delete besides the phpbb stuff. I just bought the site and hosting this week.

Can you explain MySQL to me? Crystaltech has mysql which is needed for phpbb I believe. When I search for installing mysql I find info more about installing it on a server as if I was the host provider.

My site came pre loaded with database and cgi-bin folders. I don't have to upload the phpbb files into either of those folders do I?

No, any folder will do. MySQL is a database server. Your host has it installed and you are allowed to use it. Depending on the host, you might have only one database or more. But that won't be a problem, phpBB only needs one database. If you use another program that uses MySQL, you can still use the same database.

I do use MySQL, but phpBB can use a lot of different databases.

You will need to create the database first though. I don't know your host, but most likely you will have a control center or something like that where you can create a database. Some Windows hosts require you to contact customer support and then they create the database for you.

Have you been able to upload the files yet? Since you just got the Host, can you change it? phpBB will run under Windows with php installed, but you won't have imagemagick or GD. These are required for certain things to run. If you can get a different host, I would look for a Linux based host.

No I haven't been able to upload them correctly.

I re-downloaded the file and everything. Now I'm trying to install the SMF forum software. This upload still had errors too, BUT when I try to run the install.php site it goes to a SMF produced page with the following error,

SMF Installer

You're on a windows server, and some crucial files are not writable. Please ask your host to give write permissions to the user PHP is running under for the files in your SMF installation. The following files or directories need to be writable:
attachments
avatars
Packages
Packages/installed.list
Smileys
Themes
agreement.txt
Settings.php
Settings_bak.phpto try this step again.Click here to try again

What's weird is in cuteftp when I try to make all the files they list '777' permission it can't. I hit apply and ok, and then immediately go back into the chmod screen and it's back to 666. What's up with that?

777, 614, etc are unix permission codes, not Windows. You will most likely need your host to make those files writable by php. Your ftp client won't be able to make those changes.

The phpBB software didn't give me any clue that was a problem, just the 'no page found' error. Think that was causing that problem too?

Would that cause some of the problems Im having with uploading?

Ughhh....finalllyyyyyyyyy....I thought my permissions were correct on my hosts control site because my user name had all permissions checked. I had to change the 'everyone' permissions to be able to do everything.


So my forum is up and I'm pooped. I'll let you guys know how it goes when I edit the site and mold the board into what I want it to be. It is not bikeforums.net competition.

No, that would not be the problem. phpBB does tell you about changing permissions, but the first page you see during an install will come up, just like in SMF.

When you upload the files to the server, they are owned by you. This means you can do anything that you want with them, you can read them, write to them, execute them. You give permission to others and what they can do with them, ie read, write, execute. Php is not you, so in order for php to write to the files that you own, you need to give that permission to php. But with Windows, your host will need to do this, you can't. There is a standard permission set to all new files.
The permissions have nothing to do with the uploading. As long as you have permission to create files in the folder that you are trying to upload to.

I had to change the 'everyone' permissions to be able to do everything.
No! Don't do that, very bad, very bad. Well, unless it was only the files that need to be written to during installation, then change the permissions back once installed.

No! Don't do that, very bad, very bad. Well, unless it was only the files that need to be written to during installation, then change the permissions back once installed.

Yea they were needed for install. I just set the permissions back. No haxxors allowed.

No, that would not be the problem. phpBB does tell you about changing permissions, but the first page you see during an install will come up, just like in SMF.

When you upload the files to the server, they are owned by you. This means you can do anything that you want with them, you can read them, write to them, execute them. You give permission to others and what they can do with them, ie read, write, execute. Php is not you, so in order for php to write to the files that you own, you need to give that permission to php. But with Windows, your host will need to do this, you can't. There is a standard permission set to all new files.
The permissions have nothing to do with the uploading. As long as you have permission to create files in the folder that you are trying to upload to.

Yea they have nothing to do with uploading. What the ftp client does have something to do with is changing the permissions. I can change the permissions in cuteftp but they dont take effect on the server. I needed to log into my host site and change them from the official admin control panel.

Are you asking me? I use ftp. You have to. Im trying smartftp and cuteftp to upload.

i dont
but then my hosts suck

i dont
but then my hosts suck

You must have an ftp. I use my sites IP address as an ftp when logging in through cuteftp. How else do you upload files to your site?

You must have an ftp. I use my sites IP address as an ftp when logging in through cuteftp. How else do you upload files to your site?I have shell access, so I use scp/ssh.

Yea they have nothing to do with uploading. What the ftp client does have something to do with is changing the permissions. I can change the permissions in cuteftp but they dont take effect on the server. I needed to log into my host site and change them from the official admin control panel.That is correct, in Windows. If your server was unix based, it could.

You must have an ftp. I use my sites IP address as an ftp when logging in through cuteftp. How else do you upload files to your site?
hoster comes with uploader

Dump cuteFTP - go with filezilla. It's awesome.

FileZilla is good. But, it isn't in Debian's repositories yet. Well, the older beta is.

There is always....ftp...not cute or fancy buy it works well. I still use it in a pinch, when I am to lazy to install a "proper" client

all *nixes support is and I think all windows do. (vista might not without an install) simple cli program that does the job :)

I've used WS-FTP for years. It rawks!