I have setup multisites and have one slave domain (cms1.co.uk) pointing to the master directory.
I have setup a separate db for the salve

The problem:
When I want to install the slave into a new database i go thru the standard joomla instructions.
This is completed.
When I go to access th site the installation repeats.

My thoughts:
As I understand it JMS is meant to detect that this site has been setup and then by pass installation. It looks to me like the config for the slave is not being written even though permissions are 0777

Solution?

If it repeats the installation, this probably means that you had an error at the end of the standard joomla installation.
Joomla (not JMS) report sometimes an error and ask you to copy and create the configuration.php file manually.
This may happen when you have a permission issue that does not allow to create the "'configuration.php" file.

Yes you are right.But i still cant get a result.

I now get the unhelpful Joomla ftp message could not create folder when creating a slave site.

This makes no sense because the folder is created!

I have ftp layer enabled and have changed ftp password/checked. I can install normal extensions/plugins etc but cant get multi sites to play at all. This is on a server where joomla is running fine on other accounts using ftp layer.

folder 'multisites' is owned and group of ftp username.

Ready to give up now.

Is this easy with php running with suphp?

I am going to try one last clean install then ......cry or ask Edwin to rebuild my server

On e additional question - if symbolic links are allowed and i dont use ftp layer, the multisites directory belongs to nobody as opposed to account name. I assume this is a problem too.

When you have "nobody" or "apache" owner, this is the symptom that you don't have suPHP installed.
If you install suPHP, this will solve such kind of problem as the owner will be consistent.
suPHP will create the files and folders with the same owner than the one that is executed (in your case index.php - so the correct owner).