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     <h3 class="title">
      <a name="windows-choosing-package">
      </a>
      2.3.1 Choosing an Installation Package
     </h3>
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  <p>
   For MySQL 8.4, there are multiple installation
      package formats to choose from when installing MySQL on Windows.
      The package formats described in this section are:
  </p>
  <div class="itemizedlist">
   <ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; ">
    <li class="listitem">
     <p>
      <a class="xref" href="windows-choosing-package.html#windows-choosing-package-mysql-installer" title="MySQL Installation MSI">
       MySQL Installation MSI
      </a>
     </p>
    </li>
    <li class="listitem">
     <p>
      <a class="xref" href="windows-choosing-package.html#windows-choosing-package-no-zip" title="MySQL noinstall ZIP Archives">
       MySQL noinstall ZIP Archives
      </a>
     </p>
    </li>
    <li class="listitem">
     <p>
      <a class="xref" href="windows-choosing-package.html#windows-choosing-package-docker" title="MySQL Docker Images">
       MySQL Docker Images
      </a>
     </p>
    </li>
   </ul>
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      <h4 class="title">
       <a name="windows-choosing-package-mysql-installer">
       </a>
       MySQL Installation MSI
      </h4>
     </div>
    </div>
   </div>
   <p>
    This package has a file name similar to
    <code class="filename">
     mysql-community-8.4.3.msi
    </code>
    or
    <code class="filename">
     mysql-commercial-8.4.3.msi
    </code>
    , and
        installs MySQL server along with MySQL Configurator. The MSI includes a
        MySQL Configurator application that is recommended for most users to set
        up, configure, and reconfigure the MySQL server.
   </p>
   <p>
    The MSI and MySQL Configurator operate on all MySQL supported versions of
        Windows (see
    <a class="ulink" href="https://www.mysql.com/support/supportedplatforms/database.html" target="_blank">
     https://www.mysql.com/support/supportedplatforms/database.html
    </a>
    ). For
        instructions on how to configure MySQL using MySQL Configurator, see
    <a class="xref" href="mysql-configurator.html" title="2.3.2 Configuration: Using MySQL Configurator">
     Section 2.3.2, “Configuration: Using MySQL Configurator”
    </a>
    .
   </p>
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       <a name="windows-choosing-package-no-zip">
       </a>
       MySQL noinstall ZIP Archives
      </h4>
     </div>
    </div>
   </div>
   <p>
    These packages contain the files found in the complete MySQL
        Server installation package, with the exception of the GUI. This
        format does not include an automated installer, but does include
        MySQL Configurator to configure the MySQL server.
   </p>
   <p>
    The
    <code class="literal">
     noinstall
    </code>
    ZIP archives are split into two
        separate compressed files. The main package is named
    <code class="filename">
     mysql-
     <em class="replaceable">
      <code>
       VERSION
      </code>
     </em>
     -winx64.zip
    </code>
    .
        This contains the components needed to use MySQL on your system.
        The optional MySQL test suite, MySQL benchmark suite, and
        debugging binaries/information components (including PDB files)
        are in a separate compressed file named
    <code class="filename">
     mysql-
     <em class="replaceable">
      <code>
       VERSION
      </code>
     </em>
     -winx64-debug-test.zip
    </code>
    .
   </p>
   <p>
    Program Database (PDB) files (with file name extension
    <code class="filename">
     pdb
    </code>
    ) provide information for debugging your
        MySQL installation in the event of a problem. These files are
        included in ZIP Archive distributions (but not MSI
        distributions) of MySQL.
   </p>
   <p>
    To install MySQL by extracting the Zip archive rather than use
        the MSI, consider the following:
   </p>
   <div class="orderedlist">
    <ol class="orderedlist" type="1">
     <li class="listitem">
      <p>
       If you are upgrading from a previous version please refer to
       <a class="xref" href="windows-upgrading.html" title="3.11 Upgrading MySQL on Windows">
        Section 3.11, “Upgrading MySQL on Windows”
       </a>
       , before beginning the
            upgrade process.
      </p>
     </li>
     <li class="listitem">
      <p>
       Make sure that you are logged in as a user with
            administrator privileges.
      </p>
     </li>
     <li class="listitem">
      <p>
       Choose an installation location. Traditionally, the MySQL
            server is installed in
       <code class="filename">
        C:\mysql
       </code>
       . If you
            do not install MySQL at
       <code class="filename">
        C:\mysql
       </code>
       , you
            must specify the path to the install directory during
            startup or in an option file. See
       <a class="xref" href="windows-create-option-file.html" title="2.3.3.2 Creating an Option File">
        Section 2.3.3.2, “Creating an Option File”
       </a>
       .
      </p>
      <div class="note" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;">
       <div class="admon-title">
        Note
       </div>
       <p>
        The MSI installs MySQL under
        <code class="filename">
         C:\Program
              Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 8.4\
        </code>
        .
       </p>
      </div>
     </li>
     <li class="listitem">
      <p>
       Extract the install archive to the chosen installation
            location using your preferred file-compression tool. Some
            tools may extract the archive to a folder within your chosen
            installation location. If this occurs, you can move the
            contents of the subfolder into the chosen installation
            location.
      </p>
     </li>
     <li class="listitem">
      <p>
       Configure the MySQL server using either MySQL Configurator
            (recommended) or
       <a class="xref" href="windows-install-archive.html" title="2.3.3 Configuration: Manually">
        Section 2.3.3, “Configuration: Manually”
       </a>
       .
      </p>
     </li>
    </ol>
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      <h4 class="title">
       <a name="windows-choosing-package-docker">
       </a>
       MySQL Docker Images
      </h4>
     </div>
    </div>
   </div>
   <p>
    For information on using the MySQL Docker images provided by
        Oracle on Windows platform, see
    <a class="xref" href="deploy-mysql-nonlinux-docker.html" title="2.5.6.3 Deploying MySQL on Windows and Other Non-Linux Platforms with Docker">
     Section 2.5.6.3, “Deploying MySQL on Windows and Other Non-Linux Platforms with Docker”
    </a>
    .
   </p>
   <div class="warning" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;">
    <div class="admon-title">
     Warning
    </div>
    <p>
     The MySQL Docker images provided by Oracle are built
          specifically for Linux platforms. Other platforms are not
          supported, and users running the MySQL Docker images from
          Oracle on them are doing so at their own risk.
    </p>
   </div>
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