How to install MySQL on Windows

Option 1: Use All-in-One distributions packages

There are some distributions packages available that contain Apache, PHP, MySQL and other applications in a single installation file, e.g. XAMPP, WampServer etc.

These packages are good for beginner as well as for Quick setup.

If need custom/ advance configuration use manually installing MySQL, it will help you learn more about the system and give you more control.

Option 2: Manual Installation

Manual Installation

Step 1: Download MySQL

Download MySQL from dev.mysql.com/downloads/. download the “Without installer” version.

Step 2: Extract the files

Extract the ZIP to your C: drive and rename the folder from “mysql-x.x.xx-win32″ to “mysql”.

MySQL can be installed anywhere on your system. If you want a lightweight installation, you can remove every sub-folder except for bin, data, scripts and share.

Step 3: Move the data folder (optional)

I recommend placing the data folder on another drive or partition to make backups and re-installation easier. For the purposes of this example, we will create a folder called D:\MySQLdata and move the contents of C:\mysql\data into it.

You should now have two folders, D:\MySQLdata\mysql and D:\MySQLdata\test. The original C:\mysql\data folder can be removed.

Step 4: Create a configuration file

MySQL provides several configuration methods but, in general, it is easiest to to create a my.ini file in the mysql folder. There are hundreds of options to tweak MySQL to your exact requirements, but the simplest my.ini file is:

[mysqld]

# installation directory

basedir="C:/mysql/"

# data directory

datadir="D:/MySQLdata/"

Step 5: Test your installation

The MySQL server is started by running C:\mysql\bin\mysqld.exe. Open a command box (Start > Run > cmd) and enter the following commands:

cd \mysql\bin

mysqld

This will start the MySQL server which listens for requests on localhost port 3306. You can now start the MySQL command line tool and connect to the database.

Open another command box and enter:

cd \mysql\bin

mysql -u root

This will show a welcome message and the mysql> prompt. Enter “show databases;” to view a list of the pre-defined databases.

Step 6: change the root password

The MySQL root user is an all-powerful account that can create and destroy databases. If you are on a shared network, it is advisable to change the default (blank) password. From the mysql> prompt, enter:

UPDATE mysql.user SET password=PASSWORD("my-new-password") WHERE User='root';

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

You will be prompted for the password the next time you start the MySQL command line.

Enter “exit” at the mysql> prompt to stop the command line client. You should now shut down MySQL with the following command:

mysqladmin.exe -u root shutdown

Step 7: Install MySQL as a Windows service

From a command prompt, enter:

cd \mysql\bin

mysqld --install

Open the Control Panel, Administrative Tools, and then Services and double-click MySQL.

Set the Startup type to “Automatic” to ensure MySQL starts every time you boot your PC.

Alternatively, set the Startup type to “Manual” and launch MySQL whenever you choose using the command “net start mysql”.

The Windows service can be removed using:

cd \mysql\bin

mysqld --remove