mysql configuration stops at “starting server”

Question

I was installing MySQL installer on my windows 8 machine. During the server configuration process, it gets stuck at \"starting server\" and doesn\'t move any further. The lo

Answer 1

The installer has another issue that I discovered today.

I had the same issue of the installer hanging on "Starting Server". However, after looking at the windows Event Viewer under Windows Logs -> Application, I discovered the error

"Too many arguments (first extra is 'Something').For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://www.mysql.com.".

The issue is that the installer cannot handle spaces in the windows service name (the name I used was Something MySQL). Simply change the name to one without spaces.

Answer 2

The MySQL developers insist that running the MySQL service Logged On as NETWORK SERVICE IS the proper way to do it and that running it as LOCAL SYSTEM opens security holes. Okay, people, the root of the problem here is that NETWORK SERVICE can't access the locations where the log files are configured to be. I suspect this error occurs when a folder is specified (by clicking Browse) that the NETWORK SERVICE doesn't have access to. In my case, I specified the log files to be written under My Documents in a folder called MySQL Logs. So, (and this can be done while the installer dialog is open, it says the installer is taking a long time, and prompting you to Wait or Cancel,):

I simply granted full control of that folder to the NETWORK SERVICE by right-clicking on the folder, selecting Properties, selecting Security, then clicking Add, then typing in "NETWORK SERVICE". Then I selected NETWORK SERVICE and clicked the checkboxes Allow for Full control and Modify.

Answer 3

I faced the same problem. Completely removing MySql from my PC and then installing it from scratch fixed my problem.

How to remove MySql Completely:

1. Run Command Prompt as Administrator and execute the following command to stop and remove MySQL service.

   Net stop MySQL
   Sc delete MySQL
   

2. Go to Control Panel >> Programs >> Programs and Features, select MySQL Server 5.x and click Uninstall. (If you can uninstall MySQL from Control Panel)

3. Open Windows Explorer and go to Organize > Folder and search options, Select the “View” tab and under “Hidden files and Folders” choose “Show hidden files and folders”. Now explore the following locations and delete following folders.

   • C:\Program Files\MySQL
   • C:\Program Files (x86)\MySQL
   • C:\ProgramData\MySQL

   And if this exists, delete it too:

   C:\Users\[User-Name]\AppData\Roaming\MySQL
   

4. Restart your PC and reinstall MySQL. That’s all!

Answer 4

My issue was the special character in the password.

What I did to resolve being stuck at the Attempting to Start Server:
1. Use the installer to uninstall the previous version/installation
2. Validate and delete the existing MySQL Folders (DATA and App)
3. Re-install using the installer
4. Use a strong lengthy password with no special character password

Answer 5

I made this problem disappear by upgrading from 5.7 to 8.0.

Specifically I:

• Uninstalled MySQL 5.7 (through the "MySQL Notifier").
• Downloaded and ran mysql-installer-web-community-8.0.14.0.msi from https://dev.mysql.com/downloads/windows/installer/8.0.html

Answer 6

Adding this for others.

I had install set up to configure windows service.

Looking in Windows Event Viewer => Windows Logs => Application I found:

C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 5.6\bin\mysqld.exe: Error while setting value '0.0' to 'lower_case_table_names'

Checking the init file in C:\ProgramData\MySQL\MySQL Server 5.6\my.ini

I found:

# Specifies the on how table names are stored in the metadata.
# If set to 0, will throw an error on case-insensitive operative systems
# If set to 1, table names are stored in lowercase on disk and comparisons are not case sensitive.
# If set to 2, table names are stored as given but compared in lowercase.
# This option also applies to database names and table aliases.
lower_case_table_names=0.0

I changed the value to 0, but on reinstall it reappeared as 0.0 so during the install and whilst the installation hanged at 'Starting Server' I edited the my.ini file, saved it, opened the services viewer and manually started the service MySql56. The installation then completed