Setup mybb forum, domain and name for free!

[DAMINK™]

This is my tutorial on how to setup and install a mybb forum from scratch without any money or anything else.

1) We will get a free domain & host..
Lets go to http://www.000webhost.com and get both.

Register an account if you dont have one already.
Now during registration it will ask a few details about your new host as below.



Once form is complete you will see all your details right there.
FTP etc.
So now we have domain and host.
Now to go get the mybb package.

3) go to mybb.com and download the latest version.
http://www.mybb.com/downloads
Once downloaded you your pc you extract the contents of the zip file.
Once extracted then we start our favorite FTP program.
I recommend filezilla. Can be found here http://filezilla-project.org/download.php
Now connect to your new host using the FTP program you choose and the details supplied by the new free host.
Once connected you will need to navigate on the left of screen to your new mybb package you just downloaded and on the right you will need to navigate to /public_html using the details supplied by new host. Like below.

Now you need to upload all files from the left to the right. Overriding if needed.
Once complete then we are ready to install the forum.

Before we begin the install we need to setup a database.
To do so go to your control panel. You will see an option down the bottom "quick links"
Amongst those you will see MySql Management.
Choose that and make a database of your choice like below.

Now keep note of the details here as they are important during install.
Now we have finished our Domain, Host, SQL and files. So its time to install.

Go to your domain now.
You will see an error. Thats normal. Now go to your domain with the added extension of /install/
So im my case its http://tut-for-sf.webuda.com/install
Now we are ready to install the mybb software.
First 2 options are typically just click ok sort of responces.
Then we get to file permissions. This is important.
You will see here i dont have full permissions so i need to change this.

First thing to do her is go to /inc/config.net.php and rename it to config.php
Now time to change permissions to 777 on these files that are not writeable.
These can be corrected by using your FTP client and choosing the folder and changing the permissions like below.

So assuming you have fixed all file permissions as stipulated in the install script we can recheck now.

You have to see all green here or your install will fail.
Assuming its all done we move on now.
Now its time for database info. This has to be correct or it will fail every time. Here is how is should look. Obviously yours will be slightly different. Username and password.

Hit next.
Now you will see a whole heap of tables being created. This is normal. And good. Shows its working.
keep hitting next until you reach this screen.

This really is quite straight forward. Its where you set your forums description etc.
Make a point of not screwing with the cookies too much as this has been known to cause login issues.
Hit next and we are upto the Admin account setup stage.

Really simple here. This is the admin account of the MyBB install.
Hit next a couple more times then we get to this screen.

All this says is remove the entire /install/ folder from your server now and once that is done you are ready to begin playing with your forum.
Simple TUT but ultimately an effective way to run a free forum.
If you want to discuss different domains. Shorter ones than thats a different topic.
This is all about a free forum.
Hope you like it. Took me like 10 minutes to do lol.

[-[i]Dzire-™]

Awesome that you have given pics in the tut and you put in a lot of time in these.

Thumbsup from my side.

Keep up the good work.

[r0k]

When im uploading the files from filezilla i keep getting errors that say delaying connection 5 seconds blah blah blah over and over again then i get failed file transfers. Most of the files are uploaded successfully but what do i do about the files that arent?

[AceInfinity]

I also believe, from what i've heard, that you should go in and change the "settings.php" permissions to 0744. But that depends on what works, and how secure you want it for your purposes. Anyways, this is a nice descriptive tutorial.

[DAMINK™]

When im uploading the files from filezilla i keep getting errors that say delaying connection 5 seconds blah blah blah over and over again then i get failed file transfers. Most of the files are uploaded successfully but what do i do about the files that arent?

Sorry just looked at old threads and saw this.
This often happens if you have a crap host. Free hosts most often.
I choose the override option as default and let it error until its complete.
If you get loads of these however it may be of a benefit to add the max time before timeout within your FTP client.

I also believe, from what i've heard, that you should go in and change the "settings.php" permissions to 0744. But that depends on what works, and how secure you want it for your purposes. Anyways, this is a nice descriptive tutorial.

I think thats server dependent. But may be wrong.
Ultimately the lowest level of permissions your server can tolerate is the best i would imagine.
Certainly worth noting however. Thanks Infinity.

[MarkW7]

Nice tutorial. 000webhost is known to throw SQL errors a lot on MyBB forums.

[Drizzy]

Very nice tutorial bro

[Zankza]

Nice tutorial, might use it for later!