Install Content Central
From setup.exe to a working login page — the all-defaults path where the installer does everything, the your-own-SQL-Server path where one Configuration Manager step remains, and the two things to change before anyone else logs in.
Before you begin
- A 64-bit Windows server meeting the system requirements
- Local administrator rights on that server
At the end of this guide Content Central is installed, its database exists, its services are running, and you've signed in — plus you've changed the one password every attacker knows and decided what to do about the demo data.
Check the system requirements first. Then this splits into two stories, decided by one question: will Content Central use its own bundled SQL Server, or one you already run?
The all-defaults path (clean server)
On a server with no SQL Server installed, the installer genuinely does everything.
Run setup.exe as an administrator (always setup.exe, not the MSI inside it — the bootstrapper is what handles prerequisites and, later, safe upgrades).
Leave Install Microsoft SQL Server 2022 Express (ADEMERO instance) checked, and click Install.
Wait. The chain installs what's missing (.NET, IIS configuration, Visual C++ runtimes), installs SQL Express as a dedicated
ADEMEROinstance, creates and provisions the Content Central database, creates the storage folders, and starts the services and website — the step named "Provisioning the Content Central database" is the magic happening.
Browse to
http://localhost/ContentCentralon the server.
What you should see: the login page, version number at the bottom. Sign in as Admin with password AdminPassword.
Change that password before you do anything else — it's the same on every fresh install, which makes it the best-known password in the product's world. While you're there: a fresh install also creates sample users and demo data (an Accounts Payable catalog with example documents) so you can explore immediately. Great for evaluating; remove or repurpose the demo accounts before real use.
The your-own-SQL-Server path
On a server that already has any SQL instance, setup detects it, un-checks the SQL option, and deliberately stops short of provisioning — it can't guess your instance, credentials, or database name. IIS stays stopped until you supply them:
Run setup.exe and install as above (SQL checkbox stays unchecked).
When setup finishes, open Configuration Manager on the server and go to SQL Settings.
Enter your SQL Server and the database name, choose the authentication for the admin and user connections, and click Test Admin Login.
Click Create/Update Database — this is what actually creates the schema on your instance — then Apply, which binds everything, verifies it, and starts the services and website.
Configuration Manager's SQL Settings screen with the server and database entered and Create/Update Database ready to click
Browse to the site and sign in as above (this path skips demo data — you start clean).
After either path: the first four moves
- Change the Admin password, and record the account in your team's password manager
- Open Administration > System Health — every check should read healthy; anything else names its fix
- Serve it properly: set up HTTPS before real documents arrive
- Schedule real backups — the database and the document folders
If the site won't come up
The login page won't open walks the IIS-and-services checklist in order. On the your-own-SQL path, the most common cause is simpler: the Configuration Manager step (3–4 above) hasn't been completed, so the site was never started.