By apachelion on

I've always wondered why during a local Drupal installation on Windows Vista my hard disk would start writing intensively, but I never asked the question. Today, after I got my Apache/MySQL/PHP installed and ready and dropped the database, I unpacked Drupal into a new site directory and ran the script as usual only to get an HTTP 500 error. I couldn't complete the installation (got a blank screen continuously), even though I tried deleting the folder/reinstalling again and again. I then dropped the database, and tried once more -- this time the installation succeeded. Then, I started wondering why...

My observation is that after I change my default-settings.php file and enter the database information, Drupal starts configuring the database in a way that makes my hard drive write very intensively for about a minute or so. I have installed Drupal a lot of times, and I always experience the same lag and noise, even though I am running a pretty good machine (Dual-core processor with 2GB of RAM and a 500GB 16MB hard drive.) Lately (as of Drupal 6.9), I just can't get to the last installation screen most of the time -- Drupal installs with no additional programs running and absolutely no interference on my part, but I don't see the last confirmation page which should give me the usual SMTP error. This is not really problem, since I can still start using Drupal after that, but I can't understand why the installation screens were interrupted.

Is all this due to Drupal's installation script, or because of MySQL? I am using all the latest versions of Apache, MySQL and PHP, as well as Drupal 6.9. I have learned to install the programs separately and get them working with minimum configuration. I have installed only the mandatory PHP extensions (for running Drupal and phpMyAdmin), and have hooked up the database via the better mysqli connector. The only modifications I've made are to Apache's httpd.conf (for enabling Clean URLs and PHP.) Practically all I do is a textbook installation of a web development environment. Can the reason be in my lack of Apache/MySQL/PHP optimization?

My main question is: can I make any modifications/optimizations to AMP that will result in a fast and flawless Drupal installation? I have noticed that the lag/increased hard disk usage also continue later on (e.g. when logging into Drupal/making some modifications.) And this is just me, playing with Drupal on a localhost... Can I do anything to better my situation?

Thank you

Comments

apachelion’s picture

apachelion commented

The problem appeared to be a Vista issue. I first thought the lag was due to a fragmented partition, but since Vista defragments the drives automatically, this couldn't have been the real cause. I then turned off indexing for search on my drives and guess what -- I reinstalled AMP, then Drupal run the installation script flawlessly in a few seconds.

I advise everyone running a dev environment on Windows (especially Vista) to tune their hard drives before installing Drupal. Setting your hard disk for advanced performance and disabling indexing can be of paramount importance. My experience proved to me these little tweaks can boost my local server's performance dramatically.

Good day.