Installing and upgrading help

i meant will it be on internet or school intranet. anyway

Installation guide for Windows using EasyPHP - MoodleDocs http://docs.moodle.org/en/Installation_guide_for_Windows_using_EasyPHP
1 of 3 21-Aug-06 10:46 AM
Installation guide for Windows using
EasyPHP
From MoodleDocs
Return to Windows installation
Moodle requires that a webserver, PHP and a supported database be installed to run on
Windows. This may be achieved by using EasyPHP, a package that bundles all the software you
need in the form of Apache (webserver), PHP and MySQL (database) into a single Windows
application. Please note however, that EasyPHP is not designed to be used for a production
server. Here are the steps from start to finish.
Contents
1 Preparation
2 Get EasyPHP
3 Install EasyPHP
4 Create a database
5 Get Moodle!
6 Installing Moodle
6.1 Edting the the config.php file
7 The web based installer
8 Setting a Cron
9 Tips
Preparation
Firstly, if you have ever installed MySQL before (even as part of another package), uninstall
it all, delete all the MySQL files and make sure you delete c:\my.cnf and
c:\windows\my.ini. You might want to do a search and delete ANY file called my.cnf or
my.ini.
1.
If you've ever installed PHP before delete any files called php4ts.dll from around your
Windows directory, as well as any files called php.ini.
2.
Get EasyPHP
Download EasyPHP from here: EasyPHP 1.7
(http://www.easyphp.org/telechargements/dn.php?F=easyphp1-7) (approx 10 Mb). You
may want to try the later EasyPHP 1.8
(http://www.easyphp.org/telechargements/dn.php?F=easyphp1-8) (approx 9 Mb)
1.
Install EasyPHP
Run the downloaded file: easyphp1-7_setup.exe. The installation process is in French but is
much like installing any other Windows program - I advise accepting the defaults and
letting it all install. Note: that "Suivant" means Next and "Oui" means Yes.
1.
Installation guide for Windows using EasyPHP - MoodleDocs http://docs.moodle.org/en/Installation_guide_for_Windows_using_EasyPHP
2 of 3 21-Aug-06 10:46 AM
At the end of the install leave the checkbox selected to "Lancer EasyPHP" (Start EasyPHP)
and hit the "Terminer" button. You might be taken to a information web page which you
can safely ignore.
2.
If all went well - congratulations! Apache, PHP and MySQL are all installed and running! You
should see a black E in your toolbar tray. You can right click on it to get a menu which will
let you control the running programs, but you won't be needing that for now.
3.
Some things may be in French and you may prefer English. You can download this file
http://www.easyphp.org/telechargements/dn.php?F=indexUS_1.7 which contains English
versions of www and home folder in the EasyPHP1-7 folder. These can be copied over the
default files.
4.
Create a database
The next thing you need to do is to set up a database for Moodle to use. Right-click the
black E in the toolbar tray and choose Administration, then click DB Management (beside
PHPMyAdmin). Alternatively, using a browser, go to http://localhost/mysql/ (note the final
slash).
1.
If asked for a username, use "root" with a blank password. You should see a phpMyAdmin
web interface that allows you to create a new databases and user accounts.
2.
Create a new database by typing "moodle" into the field and hitting the "Create" button.
That was easy!
3.
You can also create a new user to access your database if you want. This can be a bit tricky
for a first-time user, so you might just want to use the existing user "root" with no
password in your Moodle config for now, and fix this later.
4.
Get Moodle!
You're ready to install Moodle! Download the latest release of Moodle from Moodle.org
(http://moodle.org/download) , then unzip the archive.
1.
Installing Moodle
Copy your moodle files into C:\Program Files\EasyPHP\www. You can either copy the entire
moodle directory (ie C:\Program Files\EasyPHP\www\moodle) or copy all the contents of
the moodle directory. If you choose this second option then you will be able to access your
Moodle home page using http://localhost/ instead of http://localhost/moodle/.
1.
Make a new empty folder somewhere else for Moodle to store uploaded files in, eg:
C:\moodledata
2.
3. Go into your Moodle folder. Make a copy of config-dist.php, and call it config.php
Edting the the config.php file
Edit config.php using a text editor (Notepad will do, just be careful that it doesn't add unwanted
spaces at the end).
1. Put in all your new database info:
$CFG->dbtype = 'mysql';
$CFG->dbhost = 'localhost';
$CFG->dbname = 'moodle';
$CFG->dbuser = 'root';
$CFG->dbpass = '';
$CFG->dbpersist = true;
$CFG->prefix = 'mdl_';
2.
Installation guide for Windows using EasyPHP - MoodleDocs http://docs.moodle.org/en/Installation_guide_for_Windows_using_EasyPHP
3 of 3 21-Aug-06 10:46 AM
And put in all your file paths
$CFG->wwwroot = 'http://localhost/moodle'; // Use an external address if you know
it.
$CFG->dirroot = 'C:\Program Files\EasyPHP\www\moodle';
$CFG->dataroot = 'C:\moodledata';
3.
4. Save config.php - you can ignore the other settings if there are any.
The web based installer
You're nearly there now! The rest of the setup is all web-based. Visit
http://localhost/moodle/admin/ with your browser to continue the setup via your browser.
1.
To use zip files with Moodle (for example the backups use zip) you might need to enable
"zlib". You can do this by going to your EasyPHP directory (C:\Program Files\EasyPHP), and
running the program phpini.exe in there. Put a mark in the checkbox next to "zlib.dll".
Close that window, then go to the black E in your toolbar and right-click it to get a menu -
select "Restart" from this menu.
2.
Setting a Cron
Lastly, you need to set up some sort of cron. See the Installation guide for more details on
this.
1.
Tips
If you don't or can't use EasyPHP, here are a few tips to make sure your PHP is set up correctly
and avoid common problems:
Make sure you enable the GD module so Moodle can process images - you may have to edit
php.ini and remove the comment (;) from this line: 'extension=php_gd2.dll'.
Make sure you enable the Zlib module so that you can create and unpack zip files from
within Moodle.
Make sure sessions is turned on - you may have to edit php.ini and fix the directory for
session.save_path - instead of the default "/tmp" use a Windows directory like "c:/temp".
Retrieved from "http://docs.moodle.org/en/Installation_guide_for_Windows_using_EasyPHP"
Categories: Administrator | Installation
This page was last modified 03:58, 5 July 2006.
Content is available under GNU Public License.

Hi, Here is sort of an index page for Windows installs in MoodleDocs
http://docs.moodle.org/en/Windows_installation
 
Sounds like you are looking to first install a localhost (stand alone desktop) to check it out.  Good idea.
It should be very easy on a Windows XP desktop if it is anything like one or two of mine.   http://docs.moodle.org/en/Complete_install_packages .  Download a 50 meg zipfile, unzip it to a root drive, rename a folder, run 2 quick programs, turn on your browser and type localhost in the address to start installing Moodle.  

Your daily procedure may be to run a program to turn on the localhost, use your web browser for Moodle and when done you may want to turn off the localhost.  

Hope this helps