After checking to make sure that Apache and MySQL are running in the background, you can try accessing the installation wizard by pointing your Web browser to the URL http://www.mysite.com/phpads/ (remember to update this URL if you've installed the application at a different location).

You should see the following welcome screen:

Click on the "Proceed" button to view the GPL License, a common feature with Open Source software packages these days.

This next screen is displayed only  if a problem crops up during pre-installation routine checks carried out by the installer. The most common problem is the lack of appropriate permissions on the "config.inc.php" file.

However, there is no reason to panic because the wizard will recommend possible solutions. In fact, you can view a list of possible errors (and solutions) in the "Administrator Guide," located in the "misc/documentation" folder.

After rectifying the errors (if any), re-load the installation wizard to view the "Administrator Account" screen that allows you to "configure" an account for an "administrator" - a super-user with the permissions and privileges to control all aspects of the application.

Complete the personal details for this "administrator" user along with a "username" and "password," specify the language for the user interface, modify the URL to point to the root folder of the application (if it does not, already) and click on "Proceed" to view the following screen:

This "MySQL database" screen allows you to specify the different parameters required to set up the database for the application. These include:

• Database hostname: the name of the server where the MySQL database is located. The default value of "localhost" is sufficient for most requirements.
  
  
• Database port number: the port on which the database server is running. The default value, i.e. 3306, should be left as it is, unless you've installed the database on a different port.
  
  
• Database username: the MySQL username. Set this to "phpadsadmin," the MySQL user created earlier.
  
  
• Database password: the MySQL password for the "phpadsadmin" MySQL user.
  
  
• Database name: the name of the database. Set the value of this parameter to "phpads."
  

In the "Advanced database settings" section, you have two additional options:

• Table names prefix: the prefix for each database table created by the installer. I recommend that you stick to the default value, i.e. "phpads_".
  
  
• Table type: here, you can modify the MySQL table type - use the default "MyISAM" table type if you're unfamiliar with other types.

Next, click on the "Proceed" button to complete the installation process. If all goes well, you should be able to view the following "Congratulations" screen.

This final screen also lists certain steps that must be implemented before you log into the administration module of the tool:

First, ensure that the "config.in.php" file has correct file permissions. The following UNIX commands should do the needful.

$ cd /www/htdocs/mysite/phpads/
$ chmod 755 config.php

Second, you need to create a cron job that executes a maintenance script every hour, on the hour. This is possible by adding the following entry to your crontab file:

00 00 * * * lynx http://www.mysite.com/phpads/admin/
admin_maintenance.php --dump > /dev/null

You could also use the PHP executable (if available)  to execute this maintenance script.

One final note: if you encounter any problems during the installation process, do not hesitate to look at the "Administrator" guide for possible solutions.