MySQL Bugs: #61163: Can't connect to a running MySQL Server with other programs.

Bug #61163	Can't connect to a running MySQL Server with other programs.
Submitted:	13 May 2011 9:20	Modified:	24 Feb 2012 10:27
Reporter:	Simon Höddels	Email Updates:
Status:	Duplicate	Impact on me:	None
Category:	MySQL Server: Errors	Severity:	S2 (Serious)
Version:	5.5.x	OS:	Windows (SP3 and all recent updates installed.)
Assigned to:		CPU Architecture:	Any
Tags:	connection problem

Description:
I'm using Windows XP SP3 with all the latest updates installed.
Up until yesterday I could connect to a local MySQL-Server without any problems. Starting yesterday I can't anymore. I always get the error message "SQL Error (200): Can't connect to mysql server on '127.0.0.1' (10061)".
I've installed MySQL as a service on Port 3306. The firewall and anti-virus program disabled. The process mysqld.exe is running.
Now, the peculiar thing is: With mysql.exe or mysqladmin.exe I can connect just fine. I can do queries and other stuff. But when I use an extern tool (MySQL Workbench, HeidiSQL, own programs, whatever...) I get the connection error. Earlier versions of MySQL are running fine (5.1.x). Newer (5.5.12 or 5.6) show the same problem. Therefore I guess it's a bug of MySQL, or am I wrong?
Also, if I connect to servers on remote machines, everything works fine.

How to repeat:
Install a MySQL server and start it in any way. Try to connect and get the error message.
Windows XP all Updates installed.

Could you please edit or create the windows\hosts file with:

127.0.0.1 localhost

and try again.

I've already done that. It works with neither of it.

Verify if the user which can't connect with those clients application has localhost host privilege.

Yes, they have the privileges they need (in example localhost has host privilege).

Please try with version 5.5.13. Thanks.

I can't try it with 5.5.13 or 5.5.14 currently. I can try an update, but the community installer can't install because a newer version is installed (I've also installed 5.6). The different installs are just for test purposes and don't run at the same time. I switch between different versions to test functionality of my programs and to see if problems occur with older or newer versions of MySQL.

What are other tools you're trying to connect with?

Can you run 

netstat -ano |findstr 3306

? 
(I'm particularly interested in checking if MySQL is listening on just IPv6 traffic, my theory is that it could break older IPv4 clients)

It looks like your guess is correct.
This is the result I get from netstat:
path>netstat -ano |findstr 3306
  TCP    [::]:3306              [::]:0                 ABHÖREN         2612

So there are no IPv4 ports.

I'm using tools like HeidiSQL and selfwritten software. Also I tried MySql Workbench and DreamCoder. Nothing except the mysql.exe command line tool works.

Simon,
you can workaround this by adding 
bind-address=0.0.0.0
to the [mysqld] section of my.ini

As for MySQL server fix, I think server it should check for Windows version(GetVersionEx() or something) and, by default, bind server socket to IPv4-any-address in XP, as IPv6 in XP is lacking dual stack support.

Thanks Vladislav!

You've helped me a great deal. The workaround with bind-address has worked.
I guess it would be nice if the server would prefer IPv4 over IPv6 on WindowsXP as you've mentioned it.

Bug #61725 was marked as a duplicate of this one.

Duplicate of bug #61713