/usr/bin/mysql_install_db: line 525: 21848 Aborted "$mysqld_bootstrap" $defaults $defaults_group_suffix "$mysqld_opt" --bootstrap $silent_startup "--basedir=$basedir" "--datadir=$ldata" --log-warnings=0 --enforce-storage-engine="" "--plugin-dir=${plugindir}" $args --max_allowed_packet=8M --net_buffer_length=16K Installation of system tables failed! Examine the logs in /tmp/mariadb-config.a80Q895hV/install_db.log or /home/databases/mariadb for more information. The problem could be conflicting information in an external my.cnf files. You can ignore these by doing: shell> /usr/bin/mysql_install_db --defaults-file=~/.my.cnf You can also try to start the mysqld daemon with: shell> /usr/sbin/mariadbd --skip-grant-tables --general-log & and use the command line tool /usr/bin/mariadb to connect to the mysql database and look at the grant tables: shell> /usr/bin/mysql -u root mysql mysql> show tables; Try 'mysqld --help' if you have problems with paths. Using --general-log gives you a log in /home/databases/mariadb that may be helpful. The latest information about mysql_install_db is available at https://mariadb.com/kb/en/installing-system-tables-mysql_install_db You can find the latest source at https://downloads.mariadb.org and the maria-discuss email list at https://launchpad.net/~maria-discuss Please check all of the above before submitting a bug report at https://mariadb.org/jira