[devlor]

Well, your config files appear to be in order. First off, are you making sure to have the MySQL Admin Tool running in the system tray at all times? This isn't always necessary for everyone (I myself don't need to), but for some users it is.

While I know you said you played around with various GRANT ALL permutations, I have to ask if you tried what I included above:

Originally Posted by Devlor

(if the last step, the GRANT... command, gives you an access denied error, exit out of mysql.exe & open it again via the command prompt with mysql.exe --user=root eq & repeat the GRANT... command)

If you did this & you're still getting an access denied message, then the next things I'd ask would be if you're in any way, shape, or form, running a firewall (including, but not limited to, Windows XP's built-in Internet Connection Firewall) on your computer setup?

If not (& you're sure of this), then I'd suggest doing something I had to do once to set things aright when I was having trouble. First shut down MySQL completely (this means to shut down the service through the right-click contect menu in the MySQL Admin tool usually running in the tray icon, then shut the tool itself down). Next, go into your ...\WINDOWS\ directory & hunt down that little my.ini file & delete it. Also look for a my.cnf file in your root C:\ directory & delete it too if present. Reboot, then enter in your user name & password again (exactly as typed in your db.ini file, making sure no trailing spaces, etc. are present in either). Try logging in again & see if this helps.

If not, since I don't know what characters you're using in your MySQL user name & password, try changing them both to something simple involving only basic alphanumeric characters (no extended characters like _ or what have you) if you haven't already. Also try to limit them to 8 characters maximum in length each. I don't know if this is necessary, but these would be the very steps I'd be taking in trying to track down the source of the problem, via process of elimination.

Last, but not least, did you try this:

Originally Posted by Devlor

NOTE: If using "localhost" in the above files doesn't work for you, try using "127.0.0.1" (no quotes) instead.

Aside from the above, I can't think of anything else at the moment. If you still have problems post back & either I or someone else might be able to help suggest further steps to take.

I do know though that the steps I detailed above have worked not just for me, but many others as well, so there has to be something unusual in your setup, whether it be a simple typo, firewall or other conflicting network hardware/software, etc. It's just a matter of finding out what that something is & correcting it, if possible.