guys the best way to do this (imo) is to use server2go DL
i downloaded the mini version cos its fairly small.
once unzipped you should have a server 2 go folder with a htdocs folder there. you can copy your custom theme across if desired.
to set it up locally you need to edit a file called pms_config.ini
look for these two items and change them as so:
- StartLocal = 1
- LocalMirror = 0
this ensures that your database remains intact locally.
once you have copied across your wordpress folder (or however you have installed wordpress ie might not be a folder just the files) you edit either the wp-config-sample.php file (Rename to wp-config.php if first install) or open the wp-config.php in your favorite text editor (Notepad) and edit the top few lines so they look this:
define('DB_NAME', 'server2go');
define('DB_USER', 'root');
define('DB_PASSWORD', '');
define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');
define('DB_CHARSET', 'utf8');
define('DB_COLLATE', '');
now go to:
http://localhost:4001/wordpress/wp-admin/install.php
if this is moving from a already hosted wordpress you might want to "copy" (as mercime states) your files from online.
- From online WordPress site - Tools > Export > XML
- From the local WordPress - Tools > Import > WordPress and check box to include attachments
once you have things how you want them create a copy of the server 2 go folder (cos we need to change the config file again and it will wipe your database data if you try to edit the site again)
in this copy edit the pms_config.ini file again
this time changing to
- StartLocal = 0
- LocalMirror = 1
AND
DefaultFile=wordpress/ (or whatever your website is stored to) (dont forget the /)
finally burn everything in the server2go folder (dont just copy the folder across) and you now have a auto running (people just have to click the server2go.exe) instance of your website where all the links work, the search works and people can even log in (admitedly they cant really change anything cos as soon as they take the disc out it will be back to how it was).
hope this helps some people cos i spent ages trying to find out how to get this to work.