Question

I have just added all the Drupal files to a folder named /_dp70/

but require clarification on certain things.

1. I already have a .htaccess file already in the root directory /
   do I need to copy the contents of Drupal’s .htaccess to my current .htaccess?

2. I also already have a MySQL database in use with 8 different tables, should I connect Drupal to that Database or create a new one? (fortunately I’ve used a naming convention if I were to add something else to it)

3. Any other tips with regards to Drupal?

For the record, I’ve recently been using SSH to maintain my website, the server is hosted with 1&1 (which I might change actually).

Thanks.
Adam

ps. How do I (can I) enable gzip (or deflating)? I get error 500 trying the .htaccess method

Answer 1

1. You will most likely have to merge parts of your old .htaccess into the drupal supplied one. Back it up.
2. Create a new database.
3. Because drupal 7 is in it’s early stages and a lot of contributed modules are still in dev or beta stages, install a few at a time only to make sure they have not broken your installation.

Use the built in admin db logs to help troubleshoot any issues.