Elgg 1.0 Install Script is Finicky as Hell

EDIT 2: It bleeping works. I honestly do not know how the installer can work at meancode.biz and have access to mod_rewrite and that .htaccess file and not have the correct access/privileges to mod_rewrite and the .htaccess file on spoiledlittlebitch.com. For that, I have no answer. To fix my problem I *DID NOT* do what the Wiki said to do (it says to add

AllowOverride all
to .htaccess which breaks the entire domain giving me a wonderful error 500) but did manually copy the entire htaccess_dist into my .htaccess file. It should be noted that for my first install, I *DID NOT* have to do that.

EDIT: This has been documented. Though I do not understand how this could be an issue with my mod_rewrite, as meancode.biz and spoiledlittlebitch.com are on the same bleeping account.

So I installed Elgg 1.0 the other day as a test. Went by with flying colors. Add the MySQL info, done.

Not so today. Since I am installing it on the same account, just a different domain, I figured I would try and use the same database. I can do this with Movable Type, it is a great feature. Just point a fresh install to an existing (good) database, and you are set.

Not the case with Elgg. I input the existing DB info in the fresh install of Elgg, hit next, and refresh to a blank screen. My only solution was to manually change settings.php with a freshly made database. That only got me to the next screen.

When I filled in the name of my new site, added the path for the data directory, and clicked next, I am hit with a 404

http://spoiledlittlebitch.com/action/systemsettings/install

Well no shit sherlock, /action does not exist, but /actions does. So why is the script sending me to a bad URL? And why did this work so well the first time? I am installing it on the SAME account at the SAME host.

Scorched earth sounds like the best policy here so I tried it again. Uploaded it all again. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. Including the 404. That gets a WTF?

So now I am trying for the THIRD time. To be honest I do not have time for this, and while I was originally really optimistic about Elgg, I am about to say screw it.

I mean seriously folks. I did not have to work very hard to break the installer. I have wasted a lot of time dicking around with this thing. I have had it. Cool idea? Check. Bitch of an install process if you get the database information wrong on your first try? Check.

I just hope my next post on Elgg is about getting the damn thing installed on SLB.

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by Ken Edwards and Matt Paprocki. Some Rights Reserved.
Contact Ken: ken [at] meancode [dot] com
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