[Typo3] Database compare not working

[typo3list]

I have installed typo3 on several servers without a problem, but on this
particular server I am having a strange problem.  I have formatted the
entire server(although not because of this problem) and re-installed the
OS, then typo3 and the problem persists.

This server is running Debian linux Sarge, Apache 2, Mysql 4.1.  I
installed Typo3 by adding the entries into the sources list, and using
apt-get to install.  Then I downloaded the 3.7 sources and created the
proper symlinks.  Then used typo3-site-installer to create a domian.
upon connecting to the install tool, everything goes fine and a DB is
created.  I continue the configuration and go to database analyzer.  I
click on compare and get a list of tables that need to be changed,
dropped, and/or altered.  I click on 'write to databade', and it comes
back to the exact same page, still showing all the same differences in
the DB, and on further review, did nothing.

I have followed this method on several other servers, including my test
box, and have never had this problem.  I checked to see if the db was
writable and manually created a table, and it worked.  I thought maybe
it was just my browser not updating correctly and on refresh it gives me
the same.  When I try to log into the backend, I get a bunch of database
errors, for which the compare has always fixed.  I am at a loss as to
where to go from here to debug the problem.  This is a friends server
who I am/was trying to convince to move to typo3 for his sites, but this
incident has made him think it might be too much trouble.  

Can anyone give me a clue where to go from here?

Wayne