Author Topic: JOOMLA Installing for 1.5.6 - Installation Inconsistencies (Read 2380 times)

Lanesa · September 21, 2008, 01:28:03 pm

Hi I've made several attempts to install the CiviCRM as stated in the forums and there seems to be some inconsistencies about the installation root folder.

The first of which comes from CiviCRM Installation Documentation

JOOMLA_ROOT/administrator/components/com_installer/com_civicrm

If any problems add the following to the php.ini or .htaccess

php_value memory_limit 64M
php_value register_globals off
php_value max_execution_time 600

Tried it this way. Does not work. The above gives me a blank screen before changing the php settings in the .htaccess and phi.ini file. Afterwards I get a message saying the path already exists.

According to this documentation is should be in the root of the component folder (com_civicrm).

http://forum.civicrm.org/index.php/topic,4647.0.html

According to at least three topics on the installation for JOOMLA I've become very confused and at the point of giving up. I really don't think it should be this hard to install the application given the correct instructions for installing it. Can someone please help. Thanks!

roballen · September 21, 2008, 01:56:13 pm

Installation of CiviCRM on Joomla is very hit or miss - chances are you timed out halfway through and there are still folders left over and half installed in the components/com_civicrm directories. First check that it hasn't actually been installed. If not keep the installation files in com_installer and delete the one(S) in administrator/components/com_civicrm & components/com_civicrm

After this make sure .htaccess is enabled - check with your host.

Then try try again ... it is for the most part just timing out - so if you are on a shared server you are at the mercy of the people you are sharing with.

If everything fails you can try the JoomlaPack / JoomlaPC route if you definately want CiviCRM on your Joomla site.

Personally I think CiviCRM with Joomla is potentially fantastic because of all the other extension goodies Joomla has. However CiviCRM integration with Joomla seems like a bolt-on rather than a proper component. On the other hand - the integration with Drupal is seemless and slick.

Lanesa · September 21, 2008, 02:19:26 pm

I'm actually testing the software locally before I make a decision to push the site on a live hosting server. I'm currently using bluehost as a hosting provider for all of my websites.

I love JOOMLA and would love to try and make the software work with JOOMLA, but as can see from all the post that Drupal is a better platform for the software. I will probably wait and see what happens within the next month or so before I take a stab at it again. I really do think there should be better installation instructions and support for the software since both Drupal and JOOMLA are very popular CMS's.

When you've invested time and money into a specific platform it's hard to just make the switch to another platform. I guess I'll search for other extensions and see if I can get the features that CiviCRM has. The thing is I would rather have one package then having to deal with 3 and 4 extensions and sets of instructions.

lcdweb · September 22, 2008, 06:06:16 am

CiviCRM is a big program -- quite possibly the biggest extension available for Joomla. As a result, it requires a little more from the hosting environment than the average extension. But the potential installation difficulties are pretty limited and thus can be troubleshot easily --

Issue 1) PHP settings
Because of the raw size of CiviCRM, it takes longer for Joomla to run through the installation process (which involves copying a lot of files, running sql queries, etc.) than the average extension. Consequently, PHP settings must be set so that the max_execution_time and memory_limit values are sufficient to run the installation process. The issue on shared hosting is that a) those default settings are generally too low; b) because you are sharing resources on the server, your processor speed is probably pretty lousy, so you need more cushion with those settings to make sure the process completes.

Issue 2) Install from Directory
Joomla gives you a couple options for installing extensions. The most common is the first method whereby you upload the extension from your local system and install. Problem is that CiviCRM is too big, so Joomla can't upload the package AND install before timing out. So the alternative is the install from directory option. The only thing that install from directory achieves is it eliminates the need to upload the file and unpack it *as part of the installation process* -- thereby requiring less from the installation script and reducing the likelihood of timing out.

It doesn't really matter *where* you put the package and unzip it when installing from directory. The current docs recommend the com_installer directory, which is fine. I use the /tmp/ directory because in J1.5.5+ that shows up as a default root directory in the extension installer page. The biggest problems people have with this process are: a) they don't put the correct root directory location in the form ("no package found" error); b) they don't unzip the package before running the installation.

Neither of these issues require a degree in rocket science. But because people don't understand what's going on, they seem much more daunting than they should.

Anyway, diagnosing your issue --
What appears to have happened is that you began the installation, but your PHP settings were inadequate, so Joomla timed out in the middle of the installation process. Problem with that is Joomla created the com_civicrm folders in /components/ and /administrator/components/ and thus won't let you reinstall the package until those folders are removed.

1) Fix php settings (do a search for how to override php.ini on bluehost -- I've done several posts addressing this on bluehost hosting)
2) Manually delete those two com_civicrm folders
3) Try reinstalling.

Lanesa · September 22, 2008, 11:59:10 am

I actually installed the software on my testing server from my laptop and tried making the changes in the .htaccess file to orveride the php.ini settings.

I'm going to take your advance and upload it to Bluehost and test it there by overing the php.ini settings. I know how to over ride the settings, I've done it with the x-cart shopping carts I have hosted on my account.

It doesn't really matter *where* you put the package and unzip it when installing from directory. The current docs recommend the com_installer directory, which is fine. I use the /tmp/ directory because in J1.5.5+ that shows up as a default root directory in the extension installer page.

I'm going to make an attempt to install the application their since this is the default directory that J 1.5.6 creates and give you some feedback on what happens. I was previously tempted to place the directory there, but wanted to try out the instructions civicrm gave and then some of the ones I saw on the forum to see what works best.

I do appreciate the feedback and will keep at it until something happens. I really want to make this work with Joomla. I tried it with Drupal and had no problems. Got it to work on the first installation, but the thing is I'm not a Drupal fan and would have to spend about 2 - 3 months learning the templating system and would rather continue using JOOMLA.

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Author Topic: JOOMLA Installing for 1.5.6 - Installation Inconsistencies (Read 2380 times)

Lanesa

JOOMLA Installing for 1.5.6 - Installation Inconsistencies

roballen

Re: JOOMLA Installing for 1.5.6 - Installation Inconsistencies

Lanesa

Re: JOOMLA Installing for 1.5.6 - Installation Inconsistencies

lcdweb

Re: JOOMLA Installing for 1.5.6 - Installation Inconsistencies

Lanesa

Re: JOOMLA Installing for 1.5.6 - Installation Inconsistencies