CiviCRM Community Forums (archive)

I am positive this question has been asked and answered, but I've been trying to find the answer for two days now and I've had it:

Have installed MAMP (because I am using a MBP 13" Retina Display), Drupal 7 and need to install CiviCRM. The MAMP install went great, got my user name and password set up and can go into phpmyadmin and create users as well as databases. Logged in with the password I created.

Drupal installation went well enough so that I now have a site I can test on AND LEARN what I am doing.

I played around a little bit with the various modules, downloaded a few themes, etc and started to get the hang of Drupal (VERY VERY BASICALLY).

Then I realised I needed CiviCRM to be installed as well - and this is where it has gone pear-shaped.

As any good newbie, I searched the net for a decent installation process and have followed it to the T - until the bit where the damned database access needs to be done. I used my standard ones as created and with which I logged into MySql and PHP. No luck and all the errors came up. Through a bit of trial and error I finally have a working username - for "access". BUT .. this is where it stops. For some reason I get the following errors:

I can't create new databases and the database 'drupal' doesn't exist (user 'drupal' doesn't have CREATE DATABASE permissions.) Followed by Could not select the database - this is for the CiviCRM DB.

The error for the Drupal DB is: The database: 'drupal' does not exist.

Through the MAMP phpmyadmin I can not only access the DB (drupal) as well as the one I created (Civi1) but I can check that the user permissions are about as good as they can be. I have tried the root user in the thought that perhaps this is where the problem is. I also checked the settings.php file (as explained in a post somewhere on the net) and made sure that my settings were the ones I am using.

Still no luck and it's been two days of this. I do not know where else to turn and I would love to have someone assist me. Please note that I am a rank beginner in this - including hardly knowing ANY unix/linux - so I need to have this explained in words of one syllable.

To my mind this should be simple. I just can't think of anything else I can do - and trying to wade through the 1000's of posts and sites dedicated to this has given me a massive headache.

Is there anyone willing to take pity on me and put me out of my misery??? Pretty please?

Hi Jason

I have been following the exact process steps you have sent me (also got it off the net and it made a lot of sense). I am stuck at step c. I keep getting the errors which tell me that the user does not have access to create databases and that the database does not exist! Both the drupal db and the one I created for CiviCRM are in MySql and all the users I've tried have FULL and Admin access to the to DB's - as well as being able to create a new DB via the phpmyadmin screen. I've tried all variations of the users that I created as well as the root user. But to no effect. I am stuck! I have also uninstalled EVERYTHING 3 times already and started from the beginning to see if perhaps my installation at some stage didn't work - but everything to this step has worked fine!

The frustration is driving me mad!!! I don't know what else I can try - and I am not a person who has any knowledge of unix/ linux so using the terminal is a joke ....

Hi Hershel

Can you please treat me as a know-nothing dummy at this stage - not being unkind to myself, just know I really do know nothing. I am not sure how to check whether I have mysqli or mysql? Is there a step by step test?

I've checked the settings that I am putting in for the database connection and I am pretty sure they are all correct.  I am happy to try anything as long as I get this working - so will re-check that the settings I am using are in fact 100% correct.

I took a screenshot of my MAMP settings which shows the php extension as mysql - is this what you are referring to or is there another place I need to check?

Checked and nowhere does it say Mysqli .....

Hi Hershel

Thanks for all your help and support. I finally found the issue and have resolved it. Have to say it took going back to the installation of MAMP to get it right ... nowhere in the installation docs I went through did it mention I needed to change the ports  -. Reinstalling MAMP, changing the settings, then reinstalling Drupal and finally CiviCRM has sorted out my problem.

This is a rank beginner mistake, so I will not make it again!!!