2.3.3.6. Changes Made by MySQL Installation Wizard
Once you click the Install button, the
MySQL Installation Wizard begins the installation process and
makes certain changes to your system which are described in
the sections that follow.
Changes to the Registry
The MySQL Installation Wizard creates one Windows registry key
in a typical install situation, located in
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MySQL AB.
The MySQL Installation Wizard creates a key named after the
major version of the server that is being installed, such as
MySQL Server 5.1. It contains
two string values, Location and
Version. The Location
string contains the path to the installation directory. In a
default installation it contains C:\Program
Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 5.1\. The
Version string contains the release number.
For example, for an installation of MySQL Server
5.1.7-beta the key contains a value of
5.1.7-beta.
These registry keys are used to help external tools identify
the installed location of the MySQL server, preventing a
complete scan of the hard-disk to determine the installation
path of the MySQL server. The registry keys are not required
to run the server, and if you install MySQL using the
noinstall Zip archive, the registry keys
are not created.
Changes to the Start Menu
The MySQL Installation Wizard creates a new entry in the
Windows menu under a common MySQL
menu heading named after the major version of MySQL that you
have installed. For example, if you install MySQL
5.1, the MySQL Installation Wizard creates a
section
in the menu.
The following entries are created within the new
menu section:
: This
is a shortcut to the mysql command-line
client and is configured to connect as the
root user. The shortcut prompts for a
root user password when you connect.
: This is a shortcut to the MySQL
Configuration Wizard. Use this shortcut to configure a
newly installed server, or to reconfigure an existing
server.
: This is a
link to the MySQL server documentation that is stored
locally in the MySQL server installation directory. This
option is not available when the MySQL server is installed
using the Essentials installation package.
Changes to the File System
The MySQL Installation Wizard by default installs the MySQL
5.1 server to C:\Program
Files\MySQL\MySQL Server
5.1, where
Program Files is the default
location for applications in your system, and
5.1 is the major
version of your MySQL server. This is the recommended location
for the MySQL server, replacing the former default location
C:\mysql.
By default, all MySQL applications are stored in a common
directory at C:\Program
Files\MySQL, where
Program Files is the default
location for applications in your Windows installation. A
typical MySQL installation on a developer machine might look
like this:
C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 5.1
C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Administrator 1.0
C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Query Browser 1.0
This approach makes it easier to manage and maintain all MySQL
applications installed on a particular system.
