installing trouble after creating wp-config.php

What is in your header?

Have you modified it?

Off the top of my head, you may have some non html character in the blog name or description.

I’d try uploading another header, and see how that goes.

I have a feeling that you forgot to rename wp-config-sample.php to wp-config.php after you edited it. ??

There’s a number of threads covering this already in the forum. You might want to review some of them.

Hope this helps,
-drmike

to answer both questions, first when asked to create a wp-config.php, I just went ahead and created the file in my hosting account in the path provided in my original post. And as for the header, no I didn’t do any editing to the header cause so far at this point in the installation, it didn’t ask to do that… I will go ahead and rename the wp-config-sample.php to wp-config.php and see if that gets me further into the installation..

If my guess is correct, you didn’t read the install instructions and did NOT create the wp-config.php file before trying to install WP. Right?

Instead of relying on WP to create it, it would be much safer if you put your data in the sample file and save it as wp-config and try to install like that.
More reading Getting_Started_with_WordPress#Installation

I did open the .tar file in the server and then use the path to install but did not create the wp-config.php until after the opening of the .tar

I did rename the wp-config-sample.php to wp-config.php and also edited the file to include the databases I created.

That seems to get me through the installation..thank you for your help guys. . .

any tips on look and themes ? I am building this for a songwriting friend of my . .

Several hundreds: https://themes.wordpress.net