Database Server is not found. Please verify the login, password and server fields (DbPDO)

[AlwaysReboot]

Dear all,

this is my first time on this forum and the first time I'm installing Prestashop. However, I'm fairly experienced with Linux, databases and administration tasks. Having said this:

I am following these instructions: https://doc.prestashop.com/display/PS17/Installing+PrestaShop

It works until the point where the web installer tries to connect to the database; testing the database connection rises the error message shown in the title. I am absolutely sure that I have entered the correct server IP address and the correct credentials, and that I have created the database with the correct permissions.

I can connect to the database without any issues from the mysql command line client with exactly those credentials.

It seems that my problem is due to the database password, and I'd like to ask whether there is a bug in Prestashop or the installer which might get confused by certain passwords. I don't care about publishing that password because I'll change it anyway, so here we go:

ElTZtenkU8?Prp6&E~2h!E%"?U[}-°-ÖlK§w[r§$V$Vo2c@`

Could somebody who is more experienced than me please verify whether this database password works in the web installer, and if not, perhaps explain the allowed characters for database passwords?

Thanks in advance to everybody who helps, and best regards.

P.S. The server in question is Debian Buster with PHP 7.3 freshly installed, so everything is at its default setting. Perhaps I just would need to turn on UTF8 in some PHP INI file, but I don't have any clue of PHP yet, so wouldn't know how to do it.

 

Edited August 1, 2022 by AlwaysReboot (see edit history)