can't create database tables

Had the same problem on a fully updated system; went around with it for hours.

Watched the logs with tail -f, no error messages. PHP5/apache2/mysql connections were all working. No firewall in the way, doublechecked permissions on directories. Even purged everything involved with Apache, php5, and moodle, including dependencies, several times (kept mysql though, as the previous testing suggested the problem was not with that). Continued to get a blank page at http://localhost/moodle/admin as well as .../admin/index.php (with a 200 http code), while if I put up a simple html index page at .../admin/index.html, it *would* show (after I adjusted the conf files so that html was a recognized index file extension).

So no luck ... until I:

1) purged everything (including dependencies) connected to apache2, php5, and moodle;
2) used Adept Manager instead of aptitude; and
3) Used mysql passwords containing only alphanumeric characters (no punctuation-type stuff).

Bam. Success on first try. Running great now.

Is this symptom still reproducible in 8.10?

I would recommend doing the install manually. I am trying to remember the problem and what I did to fix it. I think my first problem was that I was trying to do this with local repos (I had to make it but needed the files) and I think not all the files needed got download (I think I was missing the php5-mysql file for mysql, don't remember, been to long). I think it has been fixed and there is no problem with it. Again I have not tested it lately and have no need for it any more.

If you are planing on doing a Moodle install, use 8.04 (because it is Long Term Support) and install it manually, don't use the binary. You can fine install guides at the Moodle doc website.

I will save you the trouble:

http://docs.moodle.org/en/Administrator_documentation

There is an Ubuntu install guide (the manual way, not the binary way).

Might this be a duplicate of bug #234609? It seems to be the same root cause?