Can anyone explain this to me?
Unzip the release archive to your computer using an archive utility capable of decompressing the download format you chose (Winzip)
Using an ftp client (FlashFXP), upload the entire contents of the 'upload' directory to a visible directory on your webserver (for example, forum or forums).
Chmod the following files to 666 (ie, make sure that PHP can write to them).
./inc/settings.php
./inc/config.php
./uploads
./uploads/avatars
In your browser, visit the URL where you installed your forums, appending /install/ on to the end of it.
If you installed your forums to
http://www.yoursite.com/forums/ then you would visit
http://www.yoursite.com/forums/install/.
Please follow the installation wizard through, making sure you have the following details handy:
Database Details: These include your MySQL username, password, database name and the hostname or ip address of your MySQL server. Generally your web host should be able to supply you with these.
Forum Details: This includes the name of your forums, the URL to your forums directory, the name of your website, and the URL to your website.
Administrator Information: During the installation process you will be required to create your initial administrator account. You will need to know which username, password, and email address you intend to use for this account.
After the installation has completed, please delete the 'install' directory from server.
Note: for extra security you can chmod config.php back to 755, but make sure you leave settings.php writable.
You can now login to the Administration Control Panel by appending /admin/ on to the URL of your forums