Resetting or Reinstalling MySQL on Mac 0S10.3.8

[davecheet]

I recently dug out an old machine and began workingon it again. I soon found
that although I had a note of the MySQL password, I had no idea what the
username was. I have no significant data so I don't mind wiping of the old
MySQL installation if necessary, or I could simply set up a new user and
password. Can anyone help me with the correct way to do either of these things
or a better alternative. Cheers Dave

[David Powers]

davecheet wrote:

> I recently dug out an old machine and began workingon it again. I soon found
> that although I had a note of the MySQL password, I had no idea what the
> username was.

Probably "root", which is the name of the superuser on MySQL.

If you install a new version of MySQL on OS X, it will not upgrade the
existing version, but simply create a completely new installation.
According to the folks at MySQL, this is because the Mac installer
doesn't make upgrading possible (don't ask me if it's true, it's just
what the readme notes say). When MySQL is installed, it goes in a folder
with a very long name, unique to the MySQL version, but then creates an
alias called "mysql".

This is not a problem if you want a fresh install, and don't need to
transfer any data from an existing version. However, if you need to
conserve disk space, you will have to remove the old version by hand.
Instructions are in the readme file that comes with MySQL.

--
David Powers
Author, "Foundation PHP 5 for Flash" (friends of ED)
Co-author "PHP Web Development with DW MX 2004" (Apress)
[url]http://computerbookshelf.com[/url]

[davecheet]

Unfortunately, reinstalling doesn't seem to be an option. I've tried
repeatedly and I always get a "there has been an error during installation"
just when it seems installation is about o be completed. I have downloaded
MySQL several times, even using other machines in case something happens to the
files on download or decompression but I always get the same error.

Anyone have any other suggestions?

[David Powers]

davecheet wrote:

> Unfortunately, reinstalling doesn't seem to be an option. I've tried
> repeatedly and I always get a "there has been an error during installation"
> just when it seems installation is about o be completed.

Did you try root as the username?

The reason for the error during installation is likely to be the fact
that the existing version of MySQL is running. You need to stop it
before installing a new version. Presumably MySQL is starting up
automatically because of the existence of a StartupItem. You could
remove the StartupItem, restart your computer, and try again.

Alternatively, you can zap the old version of MySQL.

** I have tested this technique on OS X 10.3, and know it works, but
proceed at your own risk **

Make sure you're logged on as an administrator, then open Terminal. Type
the following commands:

cd /usr/local
ls -l

That will provide a list of the directory contents. Among them will be a
symbolic link to mysql (mysql followed by -> and a long name). Below
that, you should see the actual mysql directory (it will have a name
like mysql-standard-4.1.7-apple-darwin7.6.0-powerpc).

Type the following at the Terminal shell prompt, but *don't* press Return:

sudo rm -r

Make sure there is a space after the final r. Highlight the name of the
mysql directory, Ctrl-click, and select Paste Selection. That should
give you something like this:

sudo rm -r mysql-standard-4.1.7-apple-darwin7.6.0-powerpc

Press Return. You will be prompted for your Mac password. MySQL will be
gone completely, and irretrievably (it won't be in Trash).

Next type:

cd /Library/Receipts
ls

The name of the package receipt that you need to delete will be the same
as the long mysql name previously, but with .pkg on the end. So the
command will look something like this (depending on the number of your
actual version):

sudo rm -r mysql-standard-4.1.7-apple-darwin7.6.0-powerpc.pkg

Press Return, and enter your password if prompted.

You should now be able to install MySQL. If you encounter any problems,
read the Readme.txt that comes in the MySQL disk image.

--
David Powers
Author, "Foundation PHP 5 for Flash" (friends of ED)
Co-author "PHP Web Development with DW MX 2004" (Apress)
[url]http://computerbookshelf.com[/url]