If you need to specify startup options when you run the server, you can indicate them on the command line or place them in an option file. For options that are used every time the server starts, you may find it most convenient to use an option file to specify your MySQL configuration. This is particularly true under the following circumstances:
The installation or data directory locations are different
from the default locations (C:\Program
Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 5.5
and
C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server
5.5\data
).
You need to tune the server settings, such as memory, cache, or InnoDB configuration information.
When the MySQL server starts on Windows, it looks for option
files in several locations, such as the Windows directory,
C:\
, and the MySQL installation directory
(for the full list of locations, see
Section 4.2.3.3, “Using Option Files”). The Windows directory typically
is named something like C:\WINDOWS
. You can
determine its exact location from the value of the
WINDIR
environment variable using the
following command:
C:\> echo %WINDIR%
MySQL looks for options in each location first in the
my.ini
file, and then in the
my.cnf
file. However, to avoid confusion,
it is best if you use only one file. If your PC uses a boot
loader where C:
is not the boot drive, your
only option is to use the my.ini
file.
Whichever option file you use, it must be a plain text file.
You can also make use of the example option files included with your MySQL distribution; see Section 4.2.3.3.2, “Preconfigured Option Files”.
An option file can be created and modified with any text editor,
such as Notepad. For example, if MySQL is installed in
E:\mysql
and the data directory is in
E:\mydata\data
, you can create an option
file containing a [mysqld]
section to specify
values for the basedir
and
datadir
options:
[mysqld] # set basedir to your installation path basedir=E:/mysql # set datadir to the location of your data directory datadir=E:/mydata/data
Note that Windows path names are specified in option files using (forward) slashes rather than backslashes. If you do use backslashes, double them:
[mysqld] # set basedir to your installation path basedir=E:\\mysql # set datadir to the location of your data directory datadir=E:\\mydata\\data
The rules for use of backslash in option file values are given in Section 4.2.3.3, “Using Option Files”.
MySQL Enterprise. For expert advice on the start-up options appropriate to your circumstances, subscribe to the MySQL Enterprise Monitor. For more information, see http://www.mysql.com/products/enterprise/advisors.html.
The data directory is located within the
AppData
directory for the user running
MySQL.
If you would like to use a data directory in a different
location, you should copy the entire contents of the
data
directory to the new location. For
example, if you want to use E:\mydata
as
the data directory instead, you must do two things:
Move the entire data
directory and all
of its contents from the default location (for example
C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server
5.5\data
) to
E:\mydata
.
Use a --datadir
option to
specify the new data directory location each time you start
the server.
User Comments
If you have installed mysql using xampp, moving your data directory is not a matter of creating a new option file, but modifying the one used by xampp to start your mysql server.
Look for the batch file mysql_start.bat in the xampp directory. My mysql_start.bat file includes this line:
mysql\bin\mysqld --defaults-file=mysql\bin\my.cnf --standalone --console
By editing the mysql\bin\my.cnf file (that path is relative to the xampp installation directory), I was able to change the default data directory.
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