Installation Problems

When running wp-install.php, I’m getting the following error messages:
1. SQL/DB Error —
[
1. Error establishing a database connection!
2. Are you sure you have the correct user/password?
3. Are you sure that you have typed the correct hostname?
4. Are you sure that the database server is running?
]
2. SQL/DB Error —
[
1. Error selecting database db24713a!
2. Are you sure it exists?
3. Are you sure there is a valid database connection?
]
In response to the above, the username and password are correct. I tried two different hostnames, the recommended “localhost” and also “poseidon” which is the hostname under telnet. The same error messages occured regardless of which hostname I used. The database server should be running but I don’t know how to verify this. I did set up a MySQL database (db24713a) specifically for this project. I’m not sure how to verify if a valid database connection exists.
This is all new to me. For example, I had to figure out how to use telnet so I could do the CHMOD on the weblogs.com.changes.cache file. I ran into some other problems which I eventually figured out for myself such as my MySQL user having no database priviledges. Obviously that wasn’t going to work. My PHP is version 4.2.3 and I’m running MySQL Version 11.15 Distribution 3.23.43 so I should be fine there.
Any help is appreciated.