Once you click the Install button, the MySQL Installation Wizard begins the installation process and makes certain changes to your system which are described in the sections that follow.
Changes to the Registry
The MySQL Installation Wizard creates one Windows registry key
in a typical install situation, located in
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MySQL AB.
The MySQL Installation Wizard creates a key named after the
major version of the server that is being installed, such as
MySQL Server 5.4. It contains
two string values, Location and
Version. The Location
string contains the path to the installation directory. In a
default installation it contains C:\Program
Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 5.4\. The
Version string contains the release number.
For example, for an installation of MySQL Server
5.4.3, the key contains a value of
5.4.3.
These registry keys are used to help external tools identify
the installed location of the MySQL server, preventing a
complete scan of the hard-disk to determine the installation
path of the MySQL server. The registry keys are not required
to run the server, and if you install MySQL using the
noinstall Zip archive, the registry keys
are not created.
Changes to the Start Menu
The MySQL Installation Wizard creates a new entry in the Windows Start menu under a common MySQL menu heading named after the major version of MySQL that you have installed. For example, if you install MySQL 5.4, the MySQL Installation Wizard creates a MySQL Server 5.4 section in the Start menu.
The following entries are created within the new Start menu section:
MySQL Command Line Client: This is a shortcut to the mysql command-line client and is configured to connect as the
rootuser. The shortcut prompts for arootuser password when you connect.MySQL Server Instance Config Wizard: This is a shortcut to the MySQL Configuration Wizard. Use this shortcut to configure a newly installed server, or to reconfigure an existing server.
MySQL Documentation: This is a link to the MySQL server documentation that is stored locally in the MySQL server installation directory. This option is not available when the MySQL server is installed using the Essentials installation package.
Changes to the File System
The MySQL Installation Wizard by default installs the MySQL
5.4 server to C:\, where
Program
Files\MySQL\MySQL Server
5.4Program Files is the default
location for applications in your system, and
5.4 is the major
version of your MySQL server. This is the recommended location
for the MySQL server, replacing the former default location
C:\mysql.
By default, all MySQL applications are stored in a common
directory at C:\, where
Program
Files\MySQLProgram Files is the default
location for applications in your Windows installation. A
typical MySQL installation on a developer machine might look
like this:
C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 5.4 C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Workbench 5.1 OSS
This approach makes it easier to manage and maintain all MySQL applications installed on a particular system.
The default location of the data directory is the
AppData directory configured for the user
that installed the MySQL application.
