ABSOLUTE newbie trying to set-up database for PHP webpages

* Experienced Windows user and beginner-intermediate MS-Access developer

* Changing from Windows 98 and Access 2002 to MySQL and SUSE Linux Pro 9.2
and MySQL, PHP, and Apache

* Confirmed apache is correctly installed

* Converted Access database to MySQL by third party conversion
software--currently located in my home directory

* Installed phpMyAdmin-2.6.0-pl2 in the /srv/www/htdocs/phpMyAdmin-2.6.0-pl2
directory

* I don't know where MySQL is located by default in Linux

phpMyAdmin-2.6.0-pl2 reports that it can't connect to MySQL.  I haven't yet
specified any particular MySQL database (I want the aforementioned database
that is now in my home directory)

Do I need to move the database to another folder or directory?  Where would
that be?  How do I confirm that MySQL and PHP are correctly configured?
What do I do now?

Thanks to all of you.

Rich Hollenbeck