MySQL 8.4.11 Windows Installation and Usage Tutorial

Available for Windows 10 / 11, including MySQL Server 8.4.11 LTS installation, initialization configuration, service management, Navicat Premium 17 connection, and PowerShell basic operations.

before the start

This tutorial uses the following environment:

Project	This Tutorial Environment
Operating System	Windows 10 / Windows 11 (64-bit)
Database	MySQL Community Server 8.4.11 LTS
Installation Kit	mysql-8.4.11-winx64.msi
Graphical Management Tool	Navicat Premium 17
MySQL service name	MySQL84
Default connection port	3306

This tutorial only introduces installation, initialization, connection and basic use, and does not include MySQL uninstall. The root password in the example uses 123456 and is only used for classroom demonstrations; a more secure password should be set when actually using it.

Navicat Premium is commercial software. Please use the official trial version, genuine license or legal license provided by the school/organization.

download address

• MySQL Community Server 8.4 官方下载
• Navicat Premium 17 安装参考（CSDN）
• 配套安装资料（夸克网盘）

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Install MySQL Server

Download the MSI installation package

Open the official download page of MySQL Community Server:

• Select Version: Select8.4.11 LTS-Select Operating System: SelectMicrosoft Windows- Download type: SelectWindows (x86, 64-bit), MSI Installer

The installation packages used in this tutorial are:

mysql-8.4.11-winx64.msi

The size is about 130 MB. It is recommended to use MSI Installer instead of ZIP Archive because MSI can be installed directly through the graphical installation wizard and includes the MySQL Configurator that you need to use later.

After clicking Download, the Oracle page may require login to your account. There is no requirement to register to install Community Server. You can click:

No thanks, just start my download.

Start downloading directly.

run setup

Double click mysql-8.4.11-winx64.msi. If the Windows "User Account Control" prompt pops up, select "Yes".

Enter the MySQL Server 8.4 Setup Wizardand clickNext.

Check on the End-User License Agreement page:

I accept the terms in the License Agreement

Then click Next.

Select Typical installation

On the Choose Setup Typepage, you can see three installation methods:Typical,Customand**Complete*.

When used for course study and general development, you can select Typical. This mode installs commonly used MySQL Server components, and can subsequently connect directly through Navicat, Java, Python and other programs.

Go to the Ready to install MySQL Server 8.4page and clickInstall.

After the installation is complete, leave Run MySQL Configuratorchecked, and then clickFinish.

Next, you will automatically enter MySQL's first initialization configuration.

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initialize MySQL

Just because the installation is complete does not mean that MySQL is ready to be used directly. After the first installation, you also need to complete the configuration of data directory, port, root password, Windows services, and file permissions in MySQL Configurator.

Enter Configurator

Click Nexton theWelcome to the MySQL Server Configurator page.

data directory

Data Directory is used to store MySQL database data files. The default directory is usually:

C:\ProgramData\MySQL\MySQL Server 8.4\

Just leave the general learning and development environment as default, and click Next.

Networks and Ports

After entering Type and Networking, configure it as follows:

Configuration Item	Recommended Value
Config Type	Development Computer
TCP/IP	Open
Port	3306
X Protocol Port	33060
Named Pipe	does not open
Shared Memory	Not enabled

Open Windows Firewall ports for network access Used to add MySQL ports to Windows Firewall rules.

• Only connect Navicat, Java, or Python locally: You can uncheck it.
• Requires other computers to access native MySQL over the network: Configure firewalls based on the actual network environment and security requirements.

Set root password

Set the root administrator account password on the Accounts and Roles page.

Fill in this tutorial example:

123456

Just enter the same password in MySQL Root PasswordandRepeat Password. TheAdd User below can create a normal account. This tutorial will not create additional users for the time being.

Configure Windows services

Keep the following settings on the Windows Service page:

• Check the Configure MySQL Server as a Windows Service-Windows Service Name：MySQL84
• Check the box Start the MySQL Server at System Startup- Service operation account selectionStandard System Account

In this way, MySQL will run as a Windows service and start automatically when the system starts up.

File permissions and sample databases

Keep the default first item on the Server File Permissions page, so that the MySQL Data Directory provides full access to only service accounts and administrator groups.

Next, you will be asked whether to create the SakilaandWorldsample databases. Later in this tutorial, you will create your own test_db and student tables, so you will not check these two items and just clickNext.

application configuration

Go to the Apply Configurationpage and clickExecute.

Configurator automatically completes operations such as configuration file writing, Windows service configuration, database initialization, file permission setting, service startup, and security configuration.

After the execution is over, confirm that green checkmarks appear on the left side of each item, and see:

The configuration for MySQL Server 8.4.11 was successful.

If a red error mark appears, first open the Log tab to view the specific error information.

Finally, click Nextto enter theConfiguration Completepage, and then clickFinish.

At this point, MySQL Server 8.4.11 has been installed and initialized.

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Manage MySQL84 services

MySQL Server runs as a service in Windows. The service name for this tutorial is MySQL84. To connect to a database, Navicat, terminals, and other programs must first ensure that the service is running.

View status in Windows services

Press Win + R and enter:

services.msc

Press Enter to open the Service Manager and find MySQL84 in the list.

Under normal circumstances:

• Status: Running- Start Type:Automatic

If the status is empty, the service has stopped. After right clicking on MySQL84, you can select "Start","Stop" or "Restart".

Use terminal management services

You can also open CMD, PowerShell, or Windows Terminal with administrator privileges and execute:

net start MySQL84
net stop MySQL84

When you need to restart, you can perform it in turn:

net stop MySQL84
net start MySQL84

If "access denied" occurs or insufficient permissions occur, verify that the terminal is running as an administrator.

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Connect to MySQL using Navicat

Install and open Navicat

The Navicat17 folder has been provided in the supporting materials. If you need to install yourself, you can use the installation references given above.

Open Navicat Premium 17 after installation is complete. "My Connections" on the left is used to manage database connections, and the top toolbar can perform operations such as queries, tables, views, functions, users and backup.

Create a new MySQL connection

Click "Connect" in the upper left corner, select MySQL, and then click "Next".

Fill in the "New Connection (MySQL)" window:

Parameter	Example Value
Connection Name	MySQL84
main machine	localhost
Port	3306
User Name	root
password	root password set during installation

The password for this tutorial example is 123456.

After completing the filling, click "Test Connection" first. After the connection is successful, click "OK" to save.

If the test connection fails, check in turn:

• Is the MySQL84 service running?
• Whether the port is 3306
• Whether the user name is root
• Is the root password correct?

View the system database

After saving the connection, double-click MySQL84 on the left.

After the connection is successful, you can generally see:

• information_schema
• mysql
• performance_schema
• sys

These are MySQL's own system databases and are not recommended to modify them at will during the beginning stage.

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Create a database and practice SQL

Next, create a test_db database through Navicat, then create a student table and complete the insertion and query.

Create test_db

Right-click the MySQL84 connection on the left and select "New Database".

Fill in database name:

test_db

Character set selection:

utf8mb4

utf8mb4 can completely store Unicode characters and is suitable for Chinese, English and other characters. Just leave the sorting rules as default.

Create a student table

Select test_db, click "New Query", and execute:

CREATE TABLE student (
    id INT PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT,
    name VARCHAR(50),
    age INT,
    score DECIMAL(5,2)
);

This table contains four fields: id, name, age and score, of which id is a self-increasing primary key.

Click "Run". If "Success 1, Error 0" or OK appears below, the table has been created successfully.

Insert test data

Continue execution:

INSERT INTO student (name, age, score)
VALUES
('张三', 20, 88.5),
('李四', 21, 92.0);

If the results show:

Affected rows: 2

This means that the two pieces of data were inserted successfully.

query data

Execution:

SELECT * FROM student;

Fields such as id, name, age, and score and corresponding records will be displayed in the result area.

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Using PowerShell to operate MySQL

Navicat is a graphical management tool, and MySQL can also be operated directly through a command-line client. After mastering basic terminal operations, you can also manage databases in an environment without a graphical interface.

Enter the MySQL bin directory

The default installation directory for MySQL 8.4 is usually:

C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 8.4\bin

Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and execute:

cd "C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 8.4\bin"

log in to MySQL

Run the MySQL client in the current directory in PowerShell:

.\mysql -u root -p

Press Enter and Enter password: appears. Enter the root password set during installation.

The terminal usually does not display characters when entering a password, which is normal. After successful login, it will appear:

mysql>

You can first view the database in the current server:

SHOW DATABASES;

View test_db and student

Continue execution:

USE test_db;
SHOW TABLES;
DESC student;
SELECT * FROM student;

These orders state respectively:

orders	to act on
USE test_db;	Switch to test_db database
SHOW TABLES;	View tables in the current database
DESC student;	View student Table Structure
SELECT * FROM student;	Query all data from student Table

Navicat and the command line are connected to the same MySQL Server, so databases, tables and data created in Navicat can also be queried directly on the command line.

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common problems

Navicat cannot connect to MySQL

First check whether the MySQL84 service is running.

Press Win + R to enter services.msc; or use the administrator terminal to execute:

net start MySQL84

If the service itself does not start, Navicat cannot connect properly.

Access denied for user root

Usually the username or password is incorrect.

Check the following:

• Whether the user name is root
• Whether the password entered is consistent with that set in Configurator
• Does Navicat save old passwords

If Navicat saves an old password, edit the connection and re-enter it.

Port 3306 connection failed

Make sure that the port used by Navicat is consistent with the port set in MySQL Configurator. This tutorial is 3306.

If there are other programs on this machine that use 3306, the MySQL service may not be able to start normally, and you need to check the port occupancy or reconfigure the MySQL port.

PowerShell prompts that mysql is not a recognized command

This usually means that MySQL's bin directory has not been added to the system Path.

You can use it directly without modifying the environment variables. First enter the bin directory of MySQL:

cd "C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 8.4\bin"
.\mysql -u root -p

test_db or student is not displayed

Right-click on the connection or database on the left side of Navicat and select "Refresh", or reopen the MySQL84 connection.

You can also check in turn in the terminal:

SHOW DATABASES;
USE test_db;
SHOW TABLES;

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Basic operating process after completion

After completing the above steps, you should be able to:

• Install and initialize MySQL Community Server 8.4.11 LTS on Windows 10 / 11
• Understand the role of MySQL84 Windows services and be able to start or stop services
• Connect native MySQL using Navicat Premium 17
• Create databases and data tables
• Write data using INSERT
• Query data using SELECT
• Log in to MySQL using PowerShell and execute basic SQL commands

After completing these basics, you can continue to learn SQL, database design, and Java / Python projects connecting to MySQL.