Strange database and domain prefix behavior

the ‘www’ is a sub-domain

I do not know why it would need to be, and this is how I deal with that:

# Rewrite non-www to www
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^example\.com$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.example.com/$1 [R=301,L]
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]

# Rewrite www to non-www
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.example\.com$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://example.com/$1 [R=301,L]
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]

http://forum.ait-pro.com/forums/topic/htaccess-redirect-www-to-non-www-htaccess-redirect-non-www-to-www/#post-1723

I went to login to the dashboard to fix the prefix issue in Settings, and get the “Database Connection Error” error.

Whatever you put in there is now the only thing your database can recognize and use. So, you will need to use phpMyAdmin to fix at least those two at the top of the _options table.

the server tells me ‘www’ is already ‘included’ in the domain name, and I can’t add it.

That simply means it will be sent to the same location where you have to deal with making the two into one.

wp-config’s looking for a DB that’s not there

Do you intend for the www to be a second website?

now I’m at the wordpress install screen.

A new database is empty and WordPress is prepared to make use of it.

3. I put everything back the way it was. Should I proceed with the former installation process and upload all the backed up content to a fresh install?

You do not need a new install unless you are making a new site, and you would need a copy of the database to restore one.

4. Also, how is the site at stephenzezza.com functioning if the wp-config file for the site doesn’t just have the wrong password or something, but is looking for a DB that isn’t even there?

The database is there or you would have no site. So, I suspect you are not seeing it because the SQL user you are using at phpMyAdmin does not have permissions for it.

the non-www and www addresses should go to the same website. (www and non-www should look the same).

If I have understood correctly, you only want one or the other to actually land at your site since search engines expect to find only one or the other landing there. So, the idea is to redirect either to the other with htaccess so only the remaining one ever shows up in any SEO indexing.

Also, when I got to the install screen (after adding a new database to meet wp-config’s requirements above), would that have just setup the new DB for wordpress…

Not *the* new database, but *a* new database…and then an existing site could use it to re-begin at “square one”.

…or does this install result in a new installation of WP?

No, all else would have to be in place beforehand. So, you have apparently (even if inadvertently) simply told wp-config.php you want a new database for an existing installation.

I have…no backed up database…

It is still there at the server and the *new* set of tables (different table_prefix) might be in the same database…and to explain:

At the server, a “database” is a database-named container for one or more sets of table_prefix-named tables commonly also called a “database”.