In order for Joomla! to work properly, you will need to have a functioning MySQL Database prior to beginning the install process.

Joomla! will generally (depending upon the actual settings of the MySQL Database Server) create a database and the associated tables, provided the details are correctly entered, during the installation process. On occasion however, it may be necessary to create the database ahead of time. Just make a note of the appropriate settings before proceeding with the installation.

 When installing it for the first time, Joomla! will ask for the following information:

• The name of your MySQL database - (this may be pre-set on some hosted server set-ups)
• The name of the MySQL host - This is usually called "localhost" if you are installing on a PC or a local server. However, if you are using shared hosting, check with your hosting provider to be sure this is the case.
• A MySQL username - This may have been allocated by your server provider - a local MySQL installation generally has the default administrator username set as "root".
• A MySQL password - This may have been allocated by your server provider - a local MySQL installation generally has the default administrator password set to a blank field, unless this was manually changed during installation of the database server.

You should ask your web server provider if you are not sure about how to go about installing or configuring a MySQL database. They will generally be helpful in this respect. You must obtain the above details before beginning the installation of Joomla!

NOTE: Please check to see whether your server provider has set your hosting account to Safe Mode (this is a setting within the Apache web server. You will be unable to install Joomla! with the Joomla! automatic installer if your server is set to "safe mode".

If this is the case, you will have to manually install Joomla!.