The Ultimate OSCOMMERCE newbie Requesting Help, Please...

[miko]

Okay, well i am trying to make an online store.. so i downloaded the oscommerce files.

I am running Windows ME and i have been following the instructions, but i am lost..
I have checked around the site and can find anything...

First off, should I be using Windows ME? (I will be hosting the server on the same pc)
Secondly, there is no IIS on this computer, hence no local host to put the admin and catalog directories in, so maybe I should switch my OS?

So what do I do to start ?

I would really appreciate it if someone helped me through this whole mess, as I do not have a clue what I am doing.



Thank you,
Mike

[AtroxAngel]

First i would suggest ditching ME, its probly the worst thing MS ever released, its actually worse than 98. Linux would be your best choice but im assuming you want to stay on windows. If you have access to them, i would suggest XP (pro not home) or win 2000. they're built from nt technology at they're much better for network use.
for your server software, personally id suggest using apache. You'll also need PHP and MySQL. If you've never installed any of these you my want to try using a package install like this one http://www.firepages.com.au/ im currently running the phpdev4.23 bundle. it takes a good bit of customizing to get everything running correctly but its easier than installing everything seperately. Be prepared to do a lot of reading, all this isnt just gonna install and work instantly, but its a lot of fun and you'll probly be a lot happier once you've got it all down.
also if you have a cable/dsl connection and do not have a static ip (many do not) you'll need a service like dyndns.com so you can have a url for your customers. (everything ive listed in this post is open source or free except for the windows operating systems) so just to warn ya, you're probly in over your head right now, but this isnt really that hard, but its gonna take a LOT of work

[badjuju]

Totally agree - winme is a piece of crap. When I purchased my pc, I even went as far as asking the lady if she could take some $$$ off if I choose no OS

Oh well...Anyway, u're better off with win98, win2k/xp. If not, u can check out getting a linux web server. If it's going to be a live store, then I suggest you get at a web hoster since shoppers might experience delay especially when dealing with databases, et al.

Good Luck.
I just installed osCommerce last week, and I'm reinstalling to a new instance. Frustrating at first, and still frustrating. Just hang in there - there are some ppl around here who will help.

[modom]

Hi,

Be sure you downloaded the unix version and not the windows version.

[miko]

Why unix version... im running Windos

and you mean unix version of the cart right?

i am confused

[doug]

Miko,

Since you are running windows (even if it is that Y2K virus called ME) you are correct, you need to download the windows version of osCommerce. However I think the earlier post might have been suggesting that you will need to download the UNIX version too for you hosting site. I have found this to be totally misleading and WRONG!

I use Win2K + EasyPHP (Apache, MySQL and PHP) at home for development and Host on Linux with Apache etc. I simply uploaded the Windows version that I had to Linux and configured it, so far it has all worked fine. I too asked many questions about why 2 versions and it would appear that it comes down to .zip and .tar files and perhaps some minor differences with file permissions.

I hope this helps solve your problem.

[miko]

I got it all.. yeah and its in french.. thats cool but i cant read it. hehe..

anyways... it looks pretty easy to use

I downloaded it and installed it.. and ran the easyphp.exe

It pops up along with an icon in the tray of my windows... except it wont start the service.. i right click it.. then it says sometimes 'starting', 'started', and most often 'pending' but then it goes right back to stopped..

This is odd.. im posting here as it is 'still' within the oscommerce installation and i think i might be able to get things going once i solve this little problem

Miko

[miko]

I feel so special.. i used phpdev and got the server up and runnign and i can navigate my local host!!

wooohooo!