To install Discus onto a Windows server using the console:

1. Visit the appropriate download page (Discus Freeware or Discus Professional) and follow the instructions to obtain the appropriate zip file (discus4_10_xxx.zip). Note that the file name will vary depending on whether you are downloading the Freeware or Professional version, and which international version you are downloading if any. Save this file to a place on your hard drive where it will be easy to find later.

2. If you downloaded the file to a computer other than the one you are using as your server, copy the zip file to that server. If you use FTP to transfer the file, be sure to use binary mode. Note that you should NOT extract the zip file on your own computer and transfer individual files to your server.

3. On the server, double-click the discus4_10_xxx.zip file to open it in a zip program (such as WinZip). Extract this zip file to any location on the server (preferably a temporary directory) where you can easily find it later. This will create a directory called "discus4_10_xxx" containing the installation files.

4. It is assumed that you have already done all of the following to make your Windows server meet the Discus system requirements:

   • Installed a World Wide Web server (e.g., Microsoft IIS or Apache)

   • Installed Active Perl 5.6 or higher

   • Configured your web server to associate an extension with Active State Perl (sample instructions for: Personal Web Server, IIS, Apache)

   If your server does not meet these requirements, please reference the aforementioned documentation to set up your server correctly.

5. Double-click the file entitled "1st_install.pl" to run it with Perl in a command window. You will be prompted to follow these on-screen instructions:

   • Enter license number (if you are installing Discus Professional)
   • Choose Perl interpreter
   • Choose CGI extension

   This step generates a script called dconfig.cgi (or perhaps dconfig.pl) within your discus4_10_xxx directory. This dconfig script provides very detailed and generally accurate suggestions to help you configure your discussion board.

6. Copy the dconfig.cgi script to your server's cgi-bin directory. Do this by right-clicking the dconfig.cgi (or perhaps dconfig.pl) script in the Explorer window, selecting "Copy", and then navigating in a separate Explorer window to your server's CGI directory, and right-clicking to select Paste.

7. Use your web browser to access the WWW setup form at http://your.domain.com/cgi-bin/dconfig.cgi (or perhaps http://your.domain.com/cgi-bin/dconfig.pl or http://your.domain.com/scripts/dconfig.pl, etc.). Here, you need to substitute in the exact URL to where you copied the dconfig script in the previous step. If you get 404 (not found), you have this URL wrong.

   When the interactive setup form appears, follow the on-screen instructions to configure your Discus board.

   When you are finished, click the button to submit the form. This should immediately bring up a screen which lists further instructions.

8. On most systems, you will be presented with a text box containing your discus.conf file and instructions to copy that file to the clipboard.

   Hit ENTER in the command window running 1st_install.pl and the script should prompt you to paste in a discus.conf file. If you exited the 1st_install.pl script, run it again by double-clicking it, and you should be prompted to paste in a discus.conf file.

   Select all text from the box in your browser window and copy it to the clipboard. As prompted in your telnet window, paste in this text. (HINT: On some Windows platforms, after you select the "Paste" command in the command window, you must move the mouse around within the window to speed up the paste operation.) Discus installation will then complete itself automatically.

   On some systems, you will see a message that says your discus.conf file has been written.

   If you see this indication, hit ENTER in your command window to bring up the prompt asking you if you wish to use the existing discus.conf file. Answer yes and skip ahead to the next step. If you exited the 1st_install.pl script, run it again by double-clicking it as you did above, and you will be prompted to use your discus.conf file.

9. Access your installed board!

   The URL is given both in the command window and in your browser. You should immediately ensure your security by setting up a password for the board administrator's account. To do this:

   • Click the "Administration" link
   • Enter "admin" for your username, and leave the password box blank
   • Click the "Log In" button and follow the instructions to set up a password and register
   
   

10. Set up your board!

    DiscusWare strongly suggests that all of our new customers complete the "Board Administrator Getting Started" tutorial to learn the basics of operating the administration and user interface, and to confirm that the software was properly installed.