Error establishing a database connection

Hello, I am just starting an online class at my local university to learn WordPress. I am following a video on oreilly.com to install wordpress and am following the video exactly, i believe, but am reaching a page with this error.

I have downloaded MAMP and WordPress and put wordpress into the htdocs folder as told. I log into PHPMYADMIN on MAMP and create a new database.

I then go to localhost:8888, click on the wordpress folder i have downloaded, select English, and attempt to set up the configuration file.

I enter the database name i have created and the MAMP login credentials and database host i have been instructed to enter.

Then i get to a page that says:

Error establishing a database connection
This either means that the username and password information in your wp-config.php file is incorrect or we can’t contact the database server at localhost. This could mean your host’s database server is down.

Are you sure you have the correct username and password?
Are you sure you have typed the correct hostname?
Are you sure the database server is running?
If you’re unsure what these terms mean you should probably contact your host. If you still need help you can always visit the WordPress Support Forums.

Try Again

Any idea what I may be doing wrong?

• This topic was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by James Huff. Reason: moved to Localhost Installs since this is a localhost install