It's possible the database itself is just not working at the moment.
The admin should also check that the database details have been correctly specified in config.php
Database host: localhost
Database name: ****
Database user: *****
This is my configuration in php.ini
[MySQL]
; Allow or prevent persistent links.
mysql.allow_persistent = On
; Maximum number of persistent links. -1 means no limit.
mysql.max_persistent = -1
; Maximum number of links (persistent + non-persistent). -1 means no limit.
mysql.max_links = -1
; Default port number for mysql_connect(). If unset, mysql_connect() will use
; the $MYSQL_TCP_PORT or the mysql-tcp entry in /etc/services or the
; compile-time value defined MYSQL_PORT (in that order). Win32 will only look
; at MYSQL_PORT.
mysql.default_port =
; Default socket name for local MySQL connects. If empty, uses the built-in
; MySQL defaults.
mysql.default_socket =
HTTPD config
PidFile "/var/run/httpd.pid"
#
# Timeout: The number of seconds before receives and sends time out.
#
TimeOut 300
#
# KeepAlive: Whether or not to allow persistent connections (more than
# one request per connection). Set to "Off" to deactivate.
#
KeepAlive False
#
# MaxKeepAliveRequests: The maximum number of requests to allow
# during a persistent connection. Set to 0 to allow an unlimited amount.
# We recommend you leave this number high, for maximum performance.
#
MaxKeepAliveRequests 200
#
# KeepAliveTimeout: Number of seconds to wait for the next request from the
# same client on the same connection.
#
KeepAliveTimeout 15
##
## Server-Pool Size Regulation (MPM specific)
##
# prefork MPM
# StartServers: number of server processes to start
# MinSpareServers: minimum number of server processes which are kept spare
# MaxSpareServers: maximum number of server processes which are kept spare
# MaxClients: maximum number of server processes allowed to start
# MaxRequestsPerChild: maximum number of requests a server process serves
<IfModule prefork.c>
StartServers 8
MinSpareServers 5
MaxSpareServers 20
MaxClients 256
MaxRequestsPerChild 10000
</IfModule>
# worker MPM
# StartServers: initial number of server processes to start
# MaxClients: maximum number of simultaneous client connections
# MinSpareThreads: minimum number of worker threads which are kept spare
# MaxSpareThreads: maximum number of worker threads which are kept spare
# ThreadsPerChild: constant number of worker threads in each server process
# MaxRequestsPerChild: maximum number of requests a server process serves
<IfModule worker.c>
StartServers 2
MaxClients 256
MinSpareThreads 25
MaxSpareThreads 75
ThreadsPerChild 25
MaxRequestsPerChild 10000
</IfModule>
# perchild MPM
# NumServers: constant number of server processes
# StartThreads: initial number of worker threads in each server process
# MinSpareThreads: minimum number of worker threads which are kept spare
# MaxSpareThreads: maximum number of worker threads which are kept spare
# MaxThreadsPerChild: maximum number of worker threads in each server process
# MaxRequestsPerChild: maximum number of connections per server process
<IfModule perchild.c>
NumServers 5
StartThreads 5
MinSpareThreads 25
MaxSpareThreads 75
MaxThreadsPerChild 35
MaxRequestsPerChild 1000
</IfModule>