Perhaps they don't know the answers?
Perhaps people are busy?
I assume you realise this is a forum of Moodle users not people who are paid to provide you with technical support?
There have been times I didn't get an answer for over 2-3 weeks but when I did it was usually right what I needed.
Sure in the beginning it was a bit frustrating, then I got with the "about how long an answer might take" program.
Plus...
Folks are volunteering there time away from there other stuff.
So since I can't help with this problem since it's not in this thread,
I will say after using moodle for literally years, considering the price....
They're actually the best..
Hi Janice,
Would you please re-state clearly what exactly are your problems?
Are you installing it on your own server? or with a hosting company?
I didn't know anything about Moodle when I started Moodle; I was able to do 20 or so installs / setups without any problems; of course I use a hosting provider.
1. Upload the zip file to your web server;
2. Unzip the zip file; it creates "Moodle" folder and all its sub folders
3. Create manually a data folder , preferably one level above www folder; you may call it Moodledata or anything else. give the write permissions for trhe system
4. Create an empty mySQL database (call it anything); usually your control panel will have menu items to create such databases; setup a userid and a password for the database.
5. Now you are ready to install by going to
www.yourdomain.com/moodle/install.php
If you follow these steps you should have no problem. Since you are facing some problems, please let us know what exactly you did and what exact results / messages you got.
If possible, please try to install afresh (clean install)
Of course, you should have the right versions of PHP and mySQL for your Moodle version.
I know it sounds very basic stuff; I just wanted to share this with you because, it worked well for me.
Hope this helps!
Vijay
I am sorry, I assumed you were just beginning to use Moodle
Now I understand your situation. I don't have any immediate solution; but I can tell you from my experience that re-installing and start working on the course may be a faster solution than waiting for too long to correct the software behavior (because you already waited too long on this)
Which version of Moodle you are using? If you opt for a new install, you can try Moodle 1.6 fresh install and it has some good features compared to your earlier version (probably 1.5?)
Good luck with your efforts!
Vijay
Has the server been upgraded recently? If so what versions of php and apache are you using. There is a known issue with the latest Mandrivia for instance.
Secondly, are you using cookie or database sessions? Sometimes moving to a database session can minimise this.
As others have allready asked, what version of Moodle are you using? If 1.6, are you now using the latest 1.6 stable?
While I understand your frustration, posts like the one here don't make us want to help you any more. This is a community of fellow users like yourslef who find times out of their busy schedules to come here like you lookingfor information and posting if they can help.
Secrets to getting answered quickly include:
- Make sure your post is in the correct forum
- Try to put as much description in your post title as ossible to get out attention.
- Feel free to message some of the 'helpful moodlers' who can be identified by the moodle image under their avater (like mine).
I am suspicious that either you have done something really wrong during the installation that isn't obvious here or the problem actually is with your host. Have you asked them about the error messages you are seeing?
I have the same problem in 1.6
I have set up a mirror version of the school site and imported the data from the original - now it will not let me log in to the mirror version giving the familiar red session message and returning my attempts to the main page without logging in.
I don't have the time to resolve this issue just yet - after the term I will look harder. It seems that a great deal of people have had the same problem with no real success.
I believe it is a session/cookie problem and at present believe the quickest solution is to set up moodle again with a different db name, different moodle and moodledata folders (renamed) - particularly if you do not need the data from the original.
That would leave the old version intact allowing time to understand and fix the problem - but ensure that you could set up clean courses for the new year.
Keith
Administration > Configuration > Variables.
I have not had the problem since.
David
Thanks
I will try this - but it will need some careful consideration with the edits being made to the original site as I cannot logon to the mirror site to change the variables.
Will keep you informed
Keith
I've had this problem sometimes when running multiple Moodle sites on one server. Therefore I specify a cookiename for all site I run.
You still might need to delete all cookies in your browser to get it working again.
Sometimes you are logged in, but still are returned to the login or homepage. When you navigate, you find out that you are logged in. Usually this has to do with the sitename or dirroot not being set up correctly in config.php.
See the Moodle FAQ for possible causes and solutions.
Cheers,
Francis
Hi Vijay,
I am new at Moodle, I downloaded 1.6 and unzipped it the other day. I could not get it to do anything and then I found this post. I registered for a thoughtworks host server tonight and I hope to get permission tomorrow (Wednesday July 5 in Chicago USA) Should I delete what I unzipped and download again or will I be able to upload the file after I get permission?
I am doing this for an assignment and I am truly clueless.
Laurie
I have said it before and I will say it again, if anybody is truly stuck and it is a possibility, give me remote access to your system and I will have a look.
PS. Your site isn't working at all - database connection error.
Hi Janice
Just took a look at your site. Can you please check these:
1. You should have a file called .htaccess (note the full-stop) in the directory /home/jabernet/public_html/moodle. Check this it has at least the following lines which are taken from the moodle docs:
2. The install looks as if it's getting stuck at the data directory part. Can you also check that this directory exists: /home/jabernet/public_html/moodledata?
Ken
Current Databases: jabernet_moodledata
Users in moodledata
jabernet_jaberne (Privileges: ALL PRIVILEGES)
Connection Strings Perl $dbh = DBI->connect("DBI:mysql:jabernet_moodledata:localhost","jabernet_jaberne","<PASSWORD HERE>"); PHP $dbh=mysql_connect ("localhost", "jabernet_jaberne", "<PASSWORD HERE>") or die ('I cannot connect to the database because: ' . mysql_error());
mysql_select_db ("jabernet_moodledata");
Hi Janice,
PLease do these:
1. Clcik on "Check" link next to your database on the control panel (there will be three links: DEletre, Check, REpair) and see what it says
2. At the bottom thtat page click on "PhpMyAdmin" link; and select your database on the next page. see if you can view your empty database.
3. I guess you are starting afresh (not using any old database name, etc.)
4. makesure your data directory is located outside of your web folder (typically this would be one level above your moodle install directory
5. clickon that folder and select change permissions; it will will show a matrix of user permissions; make sure ypu have given the rights properly. you may select the default and click "change"
6. your moodle install screen should have something like this:
- web address: www.jabernethy.com/Moodle/moodle
- Moodle directory: ??? (please give your full path) you maytake the default path provided by Moodle
- Data Directory: make sure you givethe correct path
On the next screen:
Type = mySQL
Host Server = localhost (if this is true; if not, you have to give the full IP address or URL)
Database = jabernet_moodledata
User = jabernet_jaberne
password = actual password you created in the cpanel (it is possible you may not be entering the password exactly; in that case, you may want to write down the password in a notepad / text file, and copy and paste it to change the password and paste it here in the moodle install screen)
Normally it should work.
If it doesn't work and if you need it urgently, I can create one on my server on a separate folder (like janice); and you need to point your domain to proper dns servers, of course.
BTW, which hosting company you are using to host the site?
Hope this helps.
Vijay
Thank you for trying to help. Unfortunately, I have tried every combination of everything you said above and I can't get past the screen asking for Type, Host Server, Database, User, password. I keep getting this message: We could not connect to the database you specified. Please check your database settings. The host I am using is AvaHost.
Thanks again for trying.
Jan
My host (site5.com) has Moodle v1.5.2 as a Fantastico install option. I've never done it, but I think it makes it pretty easy. Janice, perhaps you should give up the frustration of the current host you are using and try someone else?\
(FYI: Fantastico is a "one-click" setup feature some web hosting companies use to install various php scripts and applications, like Moodle, for their users. It takes some of the server-side muck away from people, and simplifies the installation.)
Just a thought...
Jesse
Hi Jesse,
It is very easy with fantastico. But usually the version that is available for auto install would be a bit older one. For example, Moodle 1.6 is not available as of now with the fantastico on my hosting server.
I think if we choose a hosting provider who gives full control to the hosting environment, provides prompt and helpful service, and offers their service at a reasonable cost, then, we wshould be fine. I found one such provider on these forums. they offer first month for $1.
They have the environment required for installing Moodle 1.6 (including PHP and mySQL versions, PHP memory limits, PHP libraries, etc. as listed on moodle installation page on moodle.org website)
Kiosk.ws I tried several hosting providers in th epast; This company seems to be an excellent one for hosting Moodle and other products. It also has FrontPage extensions if you use FrontPage for building simple websites.
Hope this helps.
Vijay
It looks like a no-go situation to me. Either complain bitterly and/or move hosts I suspect.
Hello everyone,
I just setup a new website www.moodlespace.org to help teachers who want to offer courses to their students using Moodle but are facing installation / hosting issues.
Since I am learning a lot from this community, I thought I want to help this community in a small way. If there is a more demand for the use of moodlespace, we may consider forming a small group of volunteers who can support this site.
Initially I invite some experienced teachers and admins to help me organize and setup the site for effective use by multiple teachers (site design, themes, security, etc.) If we can set it up in a way that makes it look like there is an exclusive learning space for each student / class, that woud be very nice.
Janice and Laurie: Your needs and the problems you are facing have prompted me to set it up quickly. But I am sure many other teachers who face similar problems can use this site too.
If you really want a Moodle site with your own domain name (for any reason), I can help you with that too. For that to happen, you need to point your domain at your domain registrar's website to the DNS servers of my hosting provider.
Hope this helps,
Vijay
This is a really wonderful idea and very generous. It is acts like this that make the Moodle community what it is today.
I have one teacher who might be interested in your service. I will refer him on to you.
If you need any help in managing the site I am available. My skills are not in design but rather technical issues (but not programming code!).
Thanks again.
Tim.
Hi Marion,
I too was a bit surprised for a moment when I saw that.
That's because Janice copied and pasted a section of her control panel screen in her message (not the printscreen like you did; but marking the text and images and copying them to clipboard). There are three small images representing allowed actions for the database (Delete, Check, Repair). Since the images are stored on her server, the browser is trying to access from their original source; and in that process is asking us to login. If you simply click "cancel" , it will proceed without actually importing the graphics but displaying all the associated text from that.
Cheers!
Vijay
Hi Marion,
I want to learn something from you. How could you paste an image (like the screenshot) directly in your posting?
I know only one way that requires us to store the image on a server and linking it via URL. But it appears you could paste the image directly.
Thanks,
Vijay
Hi Vijay,
If you post an image as an attachment to a message, it appears inline at the end of your message. This is the easiest way for students to add a picture to a forum message.
Rgrds,
Paul.
Janice - there are a few leesons to be learned for many from your experience.
Firstly from any hoster that provides Moodle for a cheap monthly fee, expect similar responses and results, either cheap or non existant.
Secondly - assess the value of your program and ensure you fund it appropriately in the first instance, or it will be doomed for failure. The only difference in running Moodle as opposed to any other LMS /CMS if the reduction of licencing costs over a commercial product. All other costs are the same for whatever system you install, run and maintain. Any LMS / CMS will be a continual finacial drain and will require captial resourcing.
Thirdly - if one do not have the technical expertise to install, maintian and run a LMS / CMS package or don't have the funding to employ the appropriate technical team to support the environment, then one should condiser using a Moodle Partner or partnering with another school to host your site.
One must consider that every time one introduces flexible learning into their institution, that the reputation of the insitition is under continual scrutiny. One must always weigh up the consequences, is the reputation of the institution valued at maybe $5 per month, the cost of some of the cheaper hosters or something much higher?
When choosing to deploy a flexible learning solution - always keep in mind the value of the intitutions reputation, let alone your own. Value a LMS as you would any other resource, and remember, nothing is for free.
I would particularly like to thank Ken Wilson, who spent 2 1/2 hours helping me today. Also, Vijay Reddy I would like to thank for setting up a site teachers can use. Fortunately, I now have my own, but it was a very thoughtfull thing for him to do. Also, Howard Miller deserves a thank you for trying. Others who posted and tried to help, thank you to you, too!
Sincerely,
Jan Abernethy
Sounds simple, but it really wasn't! I was able to edit the .htaccess file. This helped with the Session Auto Start error I was receiving during installation. Now we are working on increasing the memory.
I just read this thread quickly and I feel like you have given birth to a ten pound baby.
Hopefully she will not eat you out of house and home
Good luck with it Janice.
Janice,
I am glad that you got your site up and running. I was not able to accomplish my site. The host servers I tried did not support php or sql, so for my assignment I used Blackboard. I am really mad at Blackboard over the patent maneuver.
My next project after I finish this degree next week will be to learn php and sql so I can begin working with Moodle.
I want to take this opportunity to say that what Blackboard is pulling with their patent is disgusting and I fully support Moodle and the principles of open source.
Thank you everyone who worked so hard to help Janice. I have visited Vijays site and I cannot log into the chemistry module, which appears to be the only one with a module attached to a site, It is rejecting my password. Do you have to register separately for everything you want to look at on the Moodle?
I frequently get the Compaq security log in containing Janices information (without the password), when I change it to my log in and password it does not work.
Have a great weekend,
Laurie