i am fairly new to linux. i have been using mysql/php for a while, but always on a server with a nice control panel pre-installed. now i am trying to get a site working on a redhat 8.0 remote box and php is not parsing, mysql is not running or working right.

so i've tried to start fresh.

i did a rpm -e mysql
error about dependancies with perl-DB

and rpm -e php

restarted apache

then i try to install mysql a couple of times (once with a tar'd binary and once with rpm). but no luck getting it to run so far.

to make matters worse, this box is at dellhost who do not tech support linux.

how is the best way to find if mysql/php is properly uninstalled and if not to uninstall them and then to fresh install? is there any step-by-step instructions to installing and setting up mysql/php to work with apache (which appears to be running correct)?

Welcome to LQ.

Take a look at:
http://lamps.efactory.de/e-index.shtml

that would probably help if i could find some info on how to clean up the screwed up attempts to remove and install. or can I just do this install and it will replace the screwed up stuff?

You should really remove he old versions first if you think the installs are damaged. If it is an rpm just run:
rpm -e package

If it was from source then cd to the source dir and run:
make uninstall