Think twice before using the Value Added Application (VAA) installer -- If you use the Joomla version that installs under the VAA menu, it won't install at your root folder, but instead in the directory \joomla. That means when a visitor types in your direct URL, they won't be taken directly to the Joomla site.
Also, by downloading (from www.joomla.org) and installing manually, you can choose the Joomla version # you want to use.
Edit the htaccess.txt file -- For Search Engine Friendly (SEF) URLs, you will need to edit the htaccess.txt file to turn on the RewriteBase option. In the file, you will find a line that reads #RewriteBase / that you need to change to RewriteBase / -- remove the pound (#) sign.
Rename htaccess.txt -- You need to rename the htaccess.txt to .htaccess which you can do from your FTP program.
