Blank screen on install.php with WebMatrix

  • Hey all. This is my first post, and my first time using WordPress so be gentle with me.

    I am running windows 7 home premium 64bit on an eMachines laptop. I recently downloaded (presumably, the latest version of) WordPress with Microsoft WebMatrix. I went through the installation, and when I get to the point where WebMatrix launches, then runs the site and loads https://localhost:#####/wp-admin/install.php in my default browser (firefox) I am getting a blank page. The weird thing, is that it is not always blank. If I hit refresh a few times, it will load the page, and allow me to fill out the form. However, when I hit submit, it brings me to another blank page. At this point, depending on whether I hit refresh or simply highlight the address and hit [Enter], it will do one of two things, respectively.
    -It will pop up the ‘confirm re-submit’ box, then give me an error that I have a bad database which needs to be repaired. If I follow through on this, it will only find one table (users) and tell me that the rest do not exist. (this is if I hit refresh)
    -It will return me to the previous page with a notice that I must enter an email address, and with the form blank. (this is if I highlight the address and hit [Enter])

    The steps I have taken thus far are:

    • I have logged into the MySQL command prompt and confirmed that the database named in the wpconfig.php file exists, which pretty much exhausts my knowledge of managing MySQL directly.
    • I have ensured that IIS Express 8 is running and have managed to load another web site (a blank one with a single default.htm file with a unique message in it) with no difficulty whatsoever.
    • I have uninstalled and re-installed WebMatrix and IIS Express.
    • I have googled many variations of brief wordings of my issue, without finding any examples of the same problems under the same conditions.

    I keep thinking it might have something to do with permissions (the folder is in My Documents\My Web Sites), but I’m not sure. Running any or all of the programs involved as an admin doesn’t seem to help.
    I’m pretty much at my wit’s end here. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

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  • I’m not personally familiar enough with IIS 8 Express* and WebMatrix to be able to help you troubleshoot your issue, but I might be able to suggest an alternative, if you are open to that possibility.

    *I was surprised to read that IIS 8 Express offers PHP support, for example.

    Thread Starter MjolnirPants

    (@mjolnirpants)

    Thanks for the link, I’ll check it out, but I’m not sure it’s going to be what I want.
    My system is getting on in years, and -not having the money to upgrade- I need to be able to keep a minimum of programs running at any given time. The integrated editor in WebMatrix helps a lot with that, so I’d prefer to stick with it.

    Still, if I need to change my back-end software, I will. I’m doing this site for professional reasons, and I can’t afford to take the time to make a custom database and integrate some open-source shopping cart by hand.
    I’m at the point where I’m giving serious thought to begging an older machine off someone, installing Ubuntu Server and a LAMP bundle and going full-on with the hosting, instead of using just the one machine.

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)
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