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Vtiger CRM 5.0.3 - Installation Manual for Windows

From vtiger.com

v5.0.3 Documents

Contents

[edit] System Requirements

Hardware</dt>
Intel™ 80486 with 512 MB RAM or more and at least 250 MB of disk space.</dd>
Operating System</dt>
Microsoft™ Windows™ NT/2000/XP</dd>
Web Server</dt>
Apache™ version 2.0.40 or higher or Microsoft™ IIS version 5 or higher</dd>
Database</dt>
MySQL™ version 4.1.x through 5.1.x</dd>
Scripting</dt>
PHP™ version 5.0.x through 5.1.x (note that a patch for 5.2.x is available)</dd>
Web Browser</dt>
Microsoft™ IE 5.5/6.0, Firefox™ 1.5.x or above, or Opera™ version 7.21 and above </dd>

[edit] How do I choose right distribution?

vtiger CRM software is available in both executable and source formats. You can choose the right distribution according to your experience with LAMP/WAMP based applications.

Recommended vtiger CRM Distributions

Type of User Distribution Type
I am new to Web-based software – Beginners

vtigercrm-5.0.3.exe
I have hands-on experience with Apache and MySQL, but not familiar with PHP – Intermediate Users

vtigercrm-5.0.3.exe
I have hands-on experience with MySQL and PHP-based applications – Advanced PHP Users/Developers/Hosting Service Providers

vtigercrm-5.0.3.tar.gz

[edit]  Installation Prerequisites

[edit] Installing in Apache Web Server

To install vtiger CRM, Apache, MySQL, and PHP are very essential. You can install vtiger CRM according to your software requirements:

[edit] Installing Complete Package

For the convenience of business community and novice PHP, vtiger CRM is bundled with optimized versions of Apache, MySQL, and PHP along with vtiger CRM core modules.

To install the complete package of vtiger CRM

  1. Download vtigercrm-5.0.3.exe from the Sourceforge.net.
  2. Run the vtigercrm-5.0.3.exe. Installation process starts within a few seconds.
  3. In the Welcome to the InstallShield Wizard for vtiger CRM dialog, click the Next button.
  4. In vtiger CRM Software License Agreement dialog, read the license agreement and click the Yes button if you accept the license agreement.
  5. Follow the steps given below to install Apache Web server bundled with vtiger CRM:
    1. In the Install Apache Options dialog, select the Install Apache option and click the Next button.
    2. In the Install Apache Web Server Port Selection dialog, enter the port number in which Apache Web server must be started and click the Next button.

      If you are not sure, you can use the default port number "80".
    3. In the Apache Service Option dialog, select the Start the apache as a service check box to automatically start vtiger CRM as a service during startup.
  6. Follow the steps given below to install MySQL bundled with vtiger CRM:
    1. In the Install MySQL Options dialog, select the Install MySQL option and click the Next button.
    2. In the MySQL Connection Parameters Configuration dialog, enter the following MySQL connection parameters and click the Next button:
      1. Port Number: The port at which MySQL database server to must be started.
      2. User Name: The user name to login in to the MySQL database.
      3. Password: The password for the user.
        If you are not sure, use the default Port as 3306, and User Name as root. Keep the Password field empty
        .
  7. In the Chose Destination Location dialog, either use the default directory C:\Program Files\vtigerCRM5_0 or select a new directory. After selecting the destination directory, click the Next button.
  8. In the Select Program Folder dialog, either use the default program folder vtiger CRM 5 or enter a new folder. Now click the Next button.
  9. In the Start Copying Files dialog, review Apache, MySQL, and PHP configuration settings. Click the Next button to start the installation or click the Cancel button to abort the installation. It will take approximately five minutes to complete the installation.

    Note: During vtiger CRM installation, <Apache Home>/conf/httpd.conf and %SystemRoot%/php.ini files will be modified. Also a backup copy of these files will be stored under %SystemRoot%/vtigerbackup folder. Please proceed further if you accept these changes.
  10. In the Installation Wizard Complete dialog, select the Yes I want to start the server option if you want to start vtiger CRM server immediately. Also select the Yes, I want vtiger CRM icon on desktop option if you want a desktop shortcut. Click the Finish button. It will take a few minutes to start vtiger CRM server.

[edit] Installing without Apache and MySQL

Use the existing Apache and MySQL if already installed in your system provided these versions are compatible with vtiger CRM.

Follow the procedure given below to install only vtiger CRM:

  1. Download vtigercrm-5.0.3.exe from the Sourceforge.net.
  2. Run the vtigercrm-5.0.3.exe. Installation process starts within a few seconds.
  3. In the Welcome to the InstallShield Wizard for vtiger CRM dialog, click the Next button.
  4. In vtiger CRM Software License Agreement dialog, read the license agreement and click the Yes button, if you accept the license agreement.
  5. Follow the steps given below to use the existing Apache Web server:
    1. In the Install Apache Options dialog, select the Use Installed Apache option and click the Next button.
    2. In the Apache Web Server Home Selection, browse the directory where the Apache is installed. Please note that if you give a wrong directory, installation will not proceed further.
    3. The Apache configuration file httpd.conf present under the <Apache Home>/conf directory, will be modified during vtiger CRM installation. Click Yes if you accept the “This selection will take backup and modify the httpd.conf file of the Apache installed in your system. Do you want to continue?” message.
    4. In the Apache Web Server Home Selection dialog, click the Next button.
  6. Follow the steps given below to use the existing MySQL:
    1. In the Install MySQL Options dialog, select the Use Installed MySQL option and click the Next button.
    2. In the MySQL Path Selection dialog, browse the directory where MySQL is installed and click the Next button.
      Warning: If you give a wrong directory, installation will not proceed further.
    3. In the MySQL Connection Parameters Configuration dialog, enter the following MySQL connection parameters and click the Next button:
      • Port Number: The port at which MySQL database server is running.
      • User Name: The user name to log in to the MySQL database.
      • Password: The password for the user.

        If you are not sure, you can use the default Port – 3306, User Name – root. Keep the Password field empty.
  7. In the Choose Destination Location dialog, either use the default program folder or enter a new folder. Now click the Next button.
  8. In the Start Copying Files dialog, review Apache, MySQL, and PHP configuration settings. Click the Next button to start the installation or click the Cancel button to abort the installation. It will take approximately five minutes to complete the installation.

    Note: During vtiger CRM installation, <Apache Home>/conf/httpd.conf and %SystemRoot%/php.ini files will be modified. Also a backup copy of these files will be stored under %SystemRoot%/vtigerbackup folder. Please proceed further if you accept these changes.
  9. In the Installation Wizard Complete dialog, select the Yes I want to start the server option if you want to start vtiger CRM server immediately. Also select the Yes, I want vtiger CRM icon on desktop option if you want a desktop shortcut. Click the Finish button. It will take a few minutes to start vtiger CRM server.

[edit] Installing vtiger CRM Source

If you are already using WAMP environment for other PHP based applications, you can very well use the same setup for vtiger CRM installation, provided your setup meets the vtiger CRM requirements.

IMPORTANT NOTE: vtiger CRM Source installation is targeted only for the Advanced Users/Developers/Hosting Providers. Beginners are strongly recommended to use the vtiger optimized WAMP setup (vtigercrm-5.0.3.exe). If you are using PHP based application first time, please skip this section and follow the steps in [#Installing_Complete_Package Installing Complete Package]

 

How to get WAMP?

WAMP stands for Windows, Apache, MySQL, and PHP. You can download optimized Apache, MySQL, and PHP with some other Add-on packages from various sources. The most popular sites that provide WAMP setup are WAMPP and XAMPP (apachefriends.com). There are many Websites offers WAMP distributions freely.

Recommended WAMP Distributions:

  • WAMP: Version 1.6.5
  • XAMPP: Version 1.5.3a

Before using your own WAMP setup, please ensure that Apache, MySQL, and PHP versions meet the vtiger CRM requirements.

To install vtiger CRM Source

Pre-installation Check List

1. You must have MODIFY permissions on the following vtiger CRM folders:

config.inc.php
install.php
parent_tabdata.php
tabdata.php


cache/
install/
logs/
storage/
test/
user_privileges/


smarty/cache/
smarty/configs/
smarty/templates_c/


modules/Emails/templates/

2. Your php.ini must configured with following parameters:

safe_mode = Off
display_errors = On
file_uploads = On
register_globals = Off
max_execution_time = 600
output_buffering = On
memory_limit = 64M
error_reporting = E_ALL & ~E_NOTICE
allow_call_time_pass_reference = On
log_errors = Off
short_open_tag= On

[edit] Installing vtiger CRM in Microsoft IIS

vtiger CRM source can be installed in Microsoft IIS. You must have already installed the Microsoft IIS 5 or above, MySQL, and PHP before installing vtiger CRM.

Configuring Microsoft IIS to work with PHP-based application

Please follow the procedure given below to execute PHP scripts in Microsoft IIS:

1. Configuring the php.ini file:

Download the Windows binary for the latest version of PHP (vtiger CRM supports PHP version 5.1.x). Once you've downloaded it, unzip it to a C:\ and rename the folder to "php". Open the PHP.INI-DIST file from the C:\PHP folder and locate the following line:

;cgi.force_redirect = 1

Remove comment in the above line and change the setting to 0 as shown below to run PHP under IIS. Make the necessary changes and save the file as php.ini in your Windows folder (C:\WINNT on my computer):

cgi.force_redirect = 0

2. Configuring PHP in Microsoft IIS. Please refer to the following sites for more details:

All the directories under vtigerCRM should have READ access permission. Otherwise, some of the images/files cannot be executed.

To install vtiger CRM in Microsoft IIS

  1. Download vtigercrm-5.0.3.tar.gz from the Sourceforge.net.
  1. Extract the vtigercrm-5.0.3.tar.gz file into IIS root directory (For example, C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\).
  2. Start Web browser and follow the procedure given in the Configuring_vtiger Configuring vtiger CRM Server section for completing vtiger CRM installation

Administering Firewalls during vtiger CRM installation

If you are running ASP & PHP with MySQL database in Windows 2000 server, PHP will connect to MySQL, but ASP won't. This issue is related to firewall administration and you have to manually change a firewall settings.

You need to shutdown the ZoneAlarms (Popular Firewall for Windows) before installing vtiger CRM software. You can restart the ZoneAlarms after configuring vtiger application

Configuring Firewall Settings:

Non-ZoneAlarm firewalls:

Check your options for the "COM Surrogate" setting. Give it some kind of
"trusted access" rights. It's the c:\%winroot%\system32\dllhost.exe file.

ZoneAlarm Pro firewall:

  • Look in Program Control (left side), then the Programs tab (top middle).

Find "COM Surrogate".

  • The "Access:Trusted" setting is the one that will block IIS'
    attempt to connect to MYSQL.
  • Enable it and you can get around the "can't connect
    to MYSQL server on localhost <10061>" problem.

Simply switch the settings as follows :

COM Surrogate - SmartDefense - Custom
COM Surrogate - Trust Level - ASK (blue "?" mark)
COM Surrogate - Access:Trusted - ALLOW (green check mark)
COM Surrogate - Access:Internet - ASK (blue "?" mark)
COM Surrogate - Server:Trusted - ASK (blue "?" mark)
COM Surrogate - Server:Internet - ASK (blue "?" mark)
COM Surrogate - Send Mail - ASK (blue "?" mark)

Key: The Zone Alarm firewall has these 3 options for each ALLOW/BLOCK/ASK option:
ALLOW = (green check mark)
BLOCK = (red letter "X")
ASK = (blue "?" mark)

Notes: For our purposes, the only setting that matters is the one with the
"ALLOW (green check mark)" setting for "Access:Trusted".

Here is what the categories mean:

"Access:Trusted" will only let the dllhost.exe file use the rest of your
computer. It won't access the Internet like the "Access:Internet" setting would.

You can safely with switch the setting above to the "ALLOW" option.

[edit] Starting and Stopping vtiger CRM Server

How you start and stop the server depends on the type of distribution.

[edit] To start vtiger CRM Server

[edit] To stop vtiger CRM Server

[edit] Configuring vtiger CRM Server

After installing vtiger CRM, you must configure vtiger CRM server with database, Website, currency, and administration access details. The vtiger CRM database tables and demo data are populated during configuration, which will take about 5 minutes time.

  1. Start your Web browser and navigate to http://localhost:port_number/vtigerCRM/index.php using the location bar.
  2. In the Registration page, complete the product registration (optional). Click the Start button.
  3. In the System Check page, PHP, MySQL database, config.php, directories that have read/write permissions, and GD graphics library version status are displayed. Click the Next button.
    Note: Please ensure that all the directories have the read/write permission; otherwise, you cannot work with features that require file upload and download.
  4. In the System Configuration page, enter the appropriate values for Database, Site Configuration, and Administration sections. Afterwards click Next button.
    • Database Configuration
      • Host Name (mandatory)–By default, Host Name is set as <System Name>:<Port No>. Please do not change the port number as it is added during installation.
      • User Name (mandatory)– Specify username for accessing the database.
      • Password (optional)– Specify password for the username.
      • Database Name (mandatory)– By default database name is vtigercrm503. You can also create a database as per your requirements.
      • Root User Name (mandatory)– If you have selected the create data option in Database Name field, specify root user name for creating database.
      • Root Password (mandatory)– Specify password for the root username.
    • Site Configuration
      • URL (mandatory) – Enter the host name. By default, it is http://<system name>.
      • Path (mandatory) – By default, this is the path where vtiger CRM is installed.
      • Path to Cache Directory (must have write permission) - By default, this is cache/. This folder is used to store the files, such as attachments, and import/export- related files temporarily.
    • Admin Configuration
      • User name – By default, the user name is set as “admin”.
      • Admin password (mandatory) – By default, the password is set as “admin”. You can change password after logging in to vtiger CRM.
      • Email ID (mandatory) – Specify your administrator’s e-mail ID.
    • Currency Configuration
      • Name (mandatory) – Specify your fiscal currency name (For example, Dollar).
      • Symbol (mandatory) – Specify your currency symbol (For example, $).
      • Code (mandatory) – Specify international code of your currency (For example, USD).
    • In the Confirm Settings page, review the configuration information. If you want to change the details, click the Change button. If you want to populate some data, select the Also populate demo data? check box. Now click the Next button.
  5. In the Config File Creation page, click the Next button. It will take approximately 4 minutes to complete the configuration.
  6. In the Create Database Tables page, the created database tables are displayed. Click the Finish button to complete the installation process.

Once the installation has successfully completed, the installation directory will be locked to secure your installation against unauthorized access.

In the Login page, by default the User Name field is set as “admin”. In Password field, enter the admin password you have set during installation process. Once you have logged in successfully, you can view the vtiger CRM Home page as shown below:

[edit] Starting vtiger CRM in Web Browser

[edit] Troubleshooting Tips

[edit] Configuration failed

I am unable to complete the initial configuration process and the following error message is displayed in the Web browser:

Warning: mysql_connect(): Host 'Server Name' is not allowed to connect to this MySQL server in C:\Program Files\vtigerCRM\apache\htdocs\vtigerCRM\database\DatabaseConnection.php on line 42

Could not connect to server Server Name:port_no as vtigercrm. Host 'Server Name' is not allowed to connect to this MySQL server

Solution: This error message is displayed when you have not uninstalled the older version of vtiger CRM fully. Follow the procedure given below to overcome this issue:

  1. Stop vtiger CRM server from Start►Program Files►vtiger CRM►Stop vtiger CRM.
  2. Start the Command Prompt and enter the following command:
    mysql -u root -port=port_no
  3. Drop the existing vtigercrm database from MySQL:
    mysql>drop database vtigercrm;
  4. Start vtiger CRM server from Start►Program Files►vtiger CRM►Start vtiger CRM.

[edit] How to start

I am not sure how to start vtiger CRM after completing the installation.

By default, the value for log4php.rootLogger is set as debug in the file log4php.properties in the vtiger CRM home directory. If you experience any problems, change the logging level to fatal or warning as follows:

Line 10: log4php.rootLogger=debug, A2

[edit] Known Issues

If you select Start à Program Files à vtiger CRM à start vtiger CRM. First you have to start Apache manually then use Start à Program Files à vtiger CRM à start vtiger CRM to start vtiger CRM.

If you select to use the existing Apache and (or) MySQL options during installation, stopping vtiger CRM using Start à Program Files à vtiger CRM à Stop vtiger CRM will not work. You have to stop Apache and MySQL manually.

Note: vtiger CRM does not stop the Apache and MySQL as you may be using Apache and MySQL software for some other applications.

 

While uninstalling vtiger CRM, some of the files are not deleted. You have to delete those files manually.

If the user-specific Apache is selected and PHP is already associated with the existing Apache (conf/httpd.conf), bundled PHP cannot be associated with the existing Apache. To overcome this issue, you have to install another instance of Apache and associate the bundled PHP with this instance.

In case of user Apache, if the entry "ScriptAlias /cgi-bin/ <cgi-bin directory path>” is not present in <Apache Home>/conf/httpd.conf then the httpd.conf file will not be updated to associate PHP with Apache. The user has to manually edit the httpd.conf file.

[edit] Related Documents

You can refer to the following documents to work with other vtiger CRM Add-ons:

Note: The vtiger Outlook Plug-in, vtiger Office Plug-in, and vtiger Thunderbird/Mozilla Extension are browser-side software and work only with Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Office, and Thunderbird/Mozilla respectively.

[edit] Installing vtiger on PHP 5.2.x

See vtiger CRM on PHP 5.2.x

[edit] Frequently Asked Questions

[edit] How to make vtiger accessible to other users?

Your network companions must use your IP address instead of localhost. You can type the command "ipconfig" in a dos window to see your ip address (or) "ip address list" in a linux shell). If your address is 192.168.0.5, they can reach your vtiger instance via http://192.168.0.5:88/ or http://192.168.0.5:81/

[edit] How to backup vtiger CRM database?

Under Settings >Other settings> Backup Server, configure the BackUp Server option.

The backup file will be present in the home directory of the ftp server that you have specified during the backup server configuration. The name of the backup file will be in the following format: backup_date_time.sql

[edit] How to auto-start vtiger CRM as a Service in Windows?

Running the startvTiger.bat file will start the Apache and then MySQL Server. The vtiger CRM Apache and MySQL servers can be started as a service, so that every time on rebooting the machine, the Apache and MySQL server will be automatically started.

To start MySQL as a service

1. Stop the MySQL server if already running.

2. Install the MySQL Service:

C:bin>mysqld --install --port=

Ex: mysqld --install vtigerMySQL --port=3306

3. Start the MySQL service:

Once a MySQL server is installed as a service, Windows will start the service automatically whenever it is started. The service also can be started immediately from the Services utility, or by using the command NET START

Ex: net start vtigerMySQL

For more details about installing and starting the mysql as a sever, refer to:

http://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql/en/Windows_start_service.html

To start Apache as a service

1. Stop the Apache Server if already running.

2. Install apache as service:

C:{Apache Installdir}>/bin apache -k install -n -f

3. Start the installed Apache Service:

C:{Apache Installdir}>/bin apache -n -k start

For more FAQ refer to:

http://wiki.vtiger.com/index.php/Vtiger_CRM_-_How_To%27s.

[edit] Customer Support

Please post your valuable comments, feature requests, and issues in vtiger CRM Discussions (http://forums.vtiger.com) so that we can provide technical support for you.

Contact Information:

vtiger Systems India Pvt. Ltd.
Sree Narayana Complex,
11 Sarathy Nagar,
Vijayanagar, Velachery,
Chennai 600 042,
INDIA
Phone No: +91-44-4202-1990
Toll Free (USA & Canada): +1-877-788-4437

Public Support: http://forums.vtiger.com

Retrieved from "http://wiki.vtiger.com/index.php/Vtiger_CRM_5.0.3_-_Installation_Manual_for_Windows"

This page has been accessed 38,989 times. This page was last modified 13:22, 10 March 2008.


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