That's sweet of you!

I followed the instructions on

https://friendi.ca/resources/installation/

word for word, i.e.

1. uploaded the directories (including addons)

2. renamed the .htaccess-dist to .htaccess (it's an Apache server)

3. Created a database and had the details at hand.

4. Went to https://friendica.penkagram.me in order to start the installer.

and what happened was:

The installer didn't start, but went redirecting me into

[url]/index.php/install/install/install/…

1/?

@helpers

until finally the browser told me "redirection error".

I then tested with some arbitrary PHP file if PHP worked. It did (in the root directory and the friendica subdirectory).

Then I tried stuff that was recommended in the forum (where I also found people told to become developers if they had problems), like entering database details into config files, some changes in .htaccess, but, alas, to no avail.

2/?

@helpers

I managed to break it, so that now I get a Error 500 when trying to access the page.

So:

I am going to delete everything, start over from scratch, and if that doesn't work, try it with git.

If you have any idea, what might have gone wrong, that would be nice. If not, never mind.

3/3

@helpers

@Mina

Not sure what is the actual state of the art of the installer is. Last I "heard" and experienced is that it was broken and that the best way to install is thru the console commands detailed in the helpers page:
/help/Install#Option+B%3A+Run+the+automatic+install+script

https://tupambae.org/help/Install#Option+B%3A+Run+the+automatic+install+script

And yes, it's recommendable to use the git install form, that way you will be able to easily update the installation.