switching servers, error when i load up database

hello-

ive been at this all day and am nearing my wits end. the installation process at my new server is quite a bit different than at my previous one. that being said, upon my initial install, i received this message:

1146 Table 'bridgetb_zc1.zen_db_cache' doesn't exist
in:
[db_cache table]

i tried changing the permissions on the cache folder (didnt do anything), tried deleting the cache_data in phpMyadmin (didn't do anything), and i tried reinstalling zencart by simply loading up the zc_install folder again and starting from scratch. THAt led to a whole slew of problems where i couldn't get past the screen which asked for the database username, password, host, etc (double checked and triple checked my passwords, directories, etc, and still somehow something was wrong). so then i went back and used my hosting company's quick zen-cart install, which seemed to go fine until i imported the database. that got me right back to the error listed above.

the domain for the new site is actually only accessible via IP address: 74.54.1.159 . reason being, the domain for which im installing zen has a site that is up and running at the previous host

could really use a hand w/ this one; apologies if this is somewhere else, im just really confused and feel like im coming up against a lot of brick walls.

thanks much

mellonade:

1146 Table 'bridgetb_zc1.zen_db_cache' doesn't exist

The message means that the table named "zen_db_cache" in the "bridge_tb" database doesn't exist.
Zen Cart's tables don't normally have "zen_" in them (unless you installed v1.2 at some point). However, the "zen_" prefix would be specified in your DB_PREFIX setting in your configure.php files.

So ... check:
a) what are the table-names like in your *old* database? Do they all have "zen_" prefixes ? if so, then you likely also have DB_PREFIX set to "zen_" in your *old* configure.php files.

b) for the host-provided installer, maybe *it* is using the "zen_" prefix which doesn't match your imported database content?

It's crucial that your DB_PREFIX settings are the same in the new site as you had in the old site.

FAQ on the move-to-new-server process:
https://www.zen-cart.com/tutorials/index.php?article=99
and
http://www.zen-cart.com/wiki/index.php/Server_Admin_-_Switch_Servers

b) for the host-provided installer, maybe *it* is using the "zen_" prefix which doesn't match your imported database content?

since my new host does everything in the zen install for you except set the admin username and password, i wasn't able set what i wanted for my db prefix. on my old database, i didnt use a prefix; on the new server, the host automatically generated zen_ as my prefix.

so, all i did was go into the configure.php files and delete the "zen_" for the db prefix section.

thanks very much for your help, in retrospect it was more obvious than i thought, just wasn't looking in the right place :blush:.

mind if i ask one more thing? since im setting up zen for a domain name thats already in use, how can i test the new install to make sure it works fine? each link i click on inevitably takes me to the live site b/c the domain names are the same. should i make a fresh install it on a subdomain on the new server, and then when ive made sure it works properly, just follow these instructions (zen wiki: moving zencart folder on server) and move it to the appropriate directory?

thanks again

mellonade:

since im setting up zen for a domain name thats already in use, how can i test the new install to make sure it works fine? each link i click on inevitably takes me to the live site b/c the domain names are the same. should i make a fresh install it on a subdomain on the new server, and then when ive made sure it works properly, just follow these instructions (zen wiki: moving zencart folder on server) and move it to the appropriate directory?

That's one way to do it, yes.
Or you could do it on an entirely different domain and move it all over when you're ready to go live.
etc.