Unfortunately I can't remember the exact steps I took since it was so long ago. Not to mention it took a lot of trial and error, but what I can say is that the database is created with mysql_install_db \ --datadir=/u//.mysql/ -O key_buffer_size=500000 \ -O sort_buffer=500000 --socket=/u//.mysql/mysql.sock The way I start the server is via: safe_mysqld \ --datadir=/u//.mysql/ -O key_buffer_size=500000 \ -O sort_buffer=500000 --socket=/u//.mysql/mysql.sock the memory sizes are important (and were chosen by trial an error) because with default configuration the system will not grant a user enough memmory and the server will not start up. The socket redirection is so that I can force mysql to use tcp (totally optional). This is about all I can think off that might help. Although (not sure what it does) my my.cnf contains: [mysqld_multi] mysqld = /software/mysql-3.23/bin/safe_mysqld mysqladmin = /software/mysql-3.23/bin/mysqladmin user = multi_admin password = multipass [mysqld] port = 3307 pid-file = /u//.mysql/data/localstate/hostname.pid datadir = /u//.mysql/ language = /software/mysql-3.23/data/share/mysql/english user = As an example, your session should look something like: commando:[~]> mkdir mysqltest commando:[~]> mysql_install_db --datadir=/u/camennie/mysqltest/ -O key_buffer_size=500000 -O sort_buffer=500000 --socket=/u/camennie/mysqltest/mysql.sock Preparing db table Preparing host table Preparing user table Preparing func table Preparing tables_priv table Preparing columns_priv table Installing all prepared tables 030915 22:52:40 /software/mysql-3.23/servers/mysqld: Shutdown Complete To start mysqld at boot time you have to copy support-files/mysql.server to the right place for your system PLEASE REMEMBER TO SET A PASSWORD FOR THE MySQL root USER ! This is done with: /software/mysql-3.23/bin/mysqladmin -u root -p password 'new-password' /software/mysql-3.23/bin/mysqladmin -u root -h commando.math -p password 'new-password' See the manual for more instructions. You can start the MySQL daemon with: cd /software/mysql-3.23 ; /software/mysql-3.23/bin/safe_mysqld & You can test the MySQL daemon with the benchmarks in the 'sql-bench' directory: cd sql-bench ; run-all-tests Please report any problems with the /software/mysql-3.23/bin/mysqlbug script! The latest information about MySQL is available on the web at http://www.mysql.com Support MySQL by buying support/licenses at https://order.mysql.com commando:[~]> safe_mysqld --datadir=/u/camennie/mysqltest/ -O key_buffer_size=500000 -O sort_buffer=500000 --socket=/u/camennie/mysqltest/mysql.sock Starting mysqld daemon with databases from /u/camennie/mysqltest/