Help anyone, please.

If you have actually installed 4_2_1-1_0_0 from scratch for the first time on your domain AND if you followed the instructions to the letter, I'd like to hear from you.

I can't get through the configuration stage.

I don't get the results as depicted starting on page 23 of the documentation.

I've cleared out all the starter package and typo3 files and started from scratch at least 8 times. I'm so frustrated that I've even written a unix shell program to do the remove all the files, do the wget, do the tar, set the permissions, swap the index files. (Makes it easier to start all over again.)

When I finish page 26 I've NEVER gotten to the screenshot shown on page 27. That is, it doesn't ask me to login - instead I end up at what looks like the screenshot on page 28. If I logout and try to log back in again, no loginid/password combination works (the admin/password and myadmin/mypassword fail). So I can't get back in to typo3 do anything.

This means that I start all over again from scratch.

Also, I can't see how the screenshot on page 25 is even possible. Notice that the tree structure shows WEC Starter Package and immediately under it is First United Methodist Church. Since we have not configured the site name yet (its done on page 31), how can this be?

Could the documentation be incomplete?

So that's why I'd like to communicate with someone who has actually installed the 421-100 by following the instructions. I'm pretty sure you probably had to make some adustments - and that's what I'd like to find out about.

Thank you.

In Christ.

Russ Archer
rearcher@optonline.net
webmaster: www.bjumc.org (not a wec site)
webmaster: www.rearcher.com (trying to be a wec site)

Russ,

Some of the screen shots are from previous version of the Starter Package so they may not be exact matches, but the highlighted items should be correct and the screen shots should not be misleading. For instance, on page 25, the name of the church has changed but it is also partly covered by the red oval. In time these will be updated, but we also try to keep documentation costs down.

Many people have installed version 4.2.1-1.0.0 without issue, most in fact. I personally installed it not long ago. The challenge is that some servers have different configurations and basic server system administration skills are needed. And if you are not used to server administration it is easy to make a mistake. Once you have it installed then server system administration skills are not needed because the software just runs. Since you have spent so much time and it has been painful, at this point I recommend one of two options.

1) Go through Vine hosting or someone else and pay them to try to install the software on your server.

2) Or change your hosting to Vine hosting where the WEC Starter Package can be installed in less than a minute and they will automatically upgrade your installation and will do emergency security patches as needed.

In Christ,
Mark

I continue to want to get in touch with someone who actually installed the starter package from scratch (ssh in particular) by following the instructions. If such a person would respond, I'd like to know what extra they had to do (beyond following the instructions which will not work in several places - that I've found so far). The object would be for me to install the starter package on our ISP.

I'm an experienced unix system programmer - since the mid 1960s. So there isn't much unix-stuff you can throw at me that I wouldn't understand.

Thank you in advance.

Russ Archer

PS: There are two reasons that I've completely reinstalled the installation several times. When an install fails:

1. It isn't clear how many of the unix files change as steps 1 2 3 and the configuration are completed and how much of the mysql database is altered by these steps. A clean reinstall avoids working with partially installed files and databases on a new install, and
2. The challenge of solving this problem is too much to avoid. I'm not a quitter when it comes to computer issues.

PPS: I'm gonna work this problem until I solve it!

PPPS: If anyone has a word version of the documentation, I'd sure like a copy so I could update it to match the installation procedure that I'll eventually get to work.

Russ,

In response to your request for a Word document, the source format for this document is Open Office (a free download) because some of the churches we serve do not have Word and Open Office is free alternative. Other TYPO3 documents use this format as well so you may find it handy to have on your computer, and it works a lot like Word. You can get the open office version on this page:

http://webempoweredchurch.com/gettingstarted/installing/

In Christ,
Mark

I found the problem. It seems that my problem has been hanging around for more than two years. I went to the "How To" page and searched all the how-tos for "URL" and found my exact problem:

ERROR: Set the Site URL in WEC Constants
After installing the WEC Starter Package, you may see the error on your front page:
ERROR: Set the Site URL in WEC Constants
You may also notice...
02/02/2006 Category: Installing WEC

I followed the instructions in the "how to" and BINGO! everything seems as it should. I can now begin to install new site for our church. Lots to do - and I'm happy.

Russ Archer

All:
Please disregard my previous response. I entered it into the wrong thread. My apologies.

Mark:

Thanks for the tip concerning "Open Office". I'm going to install it as your suggest. Once installed, where could I find the source for the starter package installation? I've got a number of suggestions on how to improve the docuemtation. I'll enter them in a separate thread once I'm out from under the initial wave of implementing our new web site.

Thanks again for all your kind help.

In Christ.

Russ Archer
webmaster: www.bjumc.org (our current site)
Webmaster: www.rearcher.com (our new WEC test site - under construction now)

Russ,

There is a link to the document on this page:

http://webempoweredchurch.com/gettingstarted/installing/

The file is wec_starter-4_2_1-1_0_0-install.sxw. sxw is the extension for older Open Office documents. We include it along with the PDF. We appreciate anything you can do to help make the WEC Starter Package installation document better.

In Christ,
Mark