Trying to import existing Drupal site to a Linux Mint VM - getting redirected to install.php

Question

I have Apache/MySQL/PHP installed and working, I've imported the database and called it stove and have updated the settings.php file in sites/default/ to use my database's name, username, and password. The hosts and vhosts are all set up correctly as well, pointing to 127.0.0.1 and the proper directories.

Any ideas on why it keeps trying to re-direct me to the install.php

Here is the snippet of code from settings.php for the database:

/* Database configuration format:
 * @code
 *   $databases['default']['default'] = array(
 *     'driver' => 'mysql',
 *     'database' => 'databasename',
 *     'username' => 'username',
 *     'password' => 'password',
 *     'host' => 'localhost',
 *     'prefix' => '',
 *   );
 *   $databases['default']['default'] = array(
 *     'driver' => 'pgsql',
 *     'database' => 'databasename',
 *     'username' => 'username',
 *     'password' => 'password',
 *     'host' => 'localhost',
 *     'prefix' => '',
 *   );
 *   $databases['default']['default'] = array(
 *     'driver' => 'sqlite',
 *     'database' => '/path/to/databasefilename',
 *   );
 * @endcode
 */
$databases['default']['default'] = array(
    'driver' => 'mysql',
    'database' => 'stove',
    'username' => 'root',
    'password' => '',
    'host' => 'localhost',
    'prefix' => '',
);

Answer 1

Some of what was said was correct for this issue. Going through the install process would have been correct, however the install.php page was not loading because when I had gone through the install process on the previous server, acquia dev desktop had deleted the install.php.

The fix was to take my sites folder and put it into a freshly extracted Drupal directory (so that the install pages were all there), update settings.php to correct database info, then go through the install process, and finally drop the tables and import the back up of the database with the information I needed.

Another note: Acquia dev desktop will add the database settings to the BOTTOM of settings.php which can be easily missed. If you're developing on Windows for whatever reason, I recommend using a virtual machine. WAMP is wonky with some Drupal modules and Acquia Dev Desktop can be hassle when trying to migrate Drupal sites so having a *nix VM can be very useful.

Answer 2

I know it sounds dumb, but just try this. Go ahead and go through the installation process. When you get to the Database settings, enter in the info for the database. If the database is correct, you should get a screen that says, "There's seems to be a site already here. Either clear out the database and try again, or see your site now." with a link.