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1.3.2 Installing MySQL Automatically using MSI »
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1.3.1.6. Upgrading MySQL with the Installation Wizard

The MySQL Installation Wizard can perform server upgrades automatically using the upgrade capabilities of MSI. That means you do not need to remove a previous installation manually before installing a new release. The installer automatically shuts down and removes the previous MySQL service before installing the new version.

Automatic upgrades are available only when upgrading between installations that have the same major and minor version numbers. For example, you can upgrade automatically from MySQL 5.1.34 to MySQL 5.1.37, but not from MySQL 5.0 to MySQL 5.1.

In MySQL 5.1.32 and later, the EXE version of the MSI installer packages were removed. When upgrading an existing MySQL installation from the old EXE based installer to the MSI based installer, please keep the following notes in mind:

  • The MSI installer will not identify an existing installation that was installed using the old EXE installer. This means that the installer will not stop the existing server, or detect that the existing password is required before installing the new version. To work around this:

    1. Stop the current server manually using net stop or mysqladmin shutdown.

    2. Remove the existing installation manually by using the Add/Remove Programs control panel. This will keep the existing configuration and data files, as these are not removed automatically.

    3. Install the new version of MySQL using the MSI installer. When running the installation, skip updating the security by deselecting the checkbox on the security screen.

    4. Complete the installation, and then start the server again. You should be able to login with your existing user and password credentials.

  • You can only upgrade the version and release using the MSI installer. For example, you can upgrade an open source installation with an open source installer. You cannot upgrade an open source installation using the enterprise installer.

See Section 1.7, “Upgrading MySQL on Windows”.