[Koha] new koha installation not working properly

[khayos]

Hello,

I've got a new Koha installation that is behaving rather oddly.  I
should say that, to begin with, the database tables
'systempreferences' and 'itemtypes' did not exist -- I had to create
them manually.  Subsequently, I had to populate 'systempreferences'
with as many of the entries that I could find, but I suspect I haven't
got them all, or that some of the settings are incorrect.

At any rate, the problem appears to be that, once I add a biblio
record to the system, I can't see it.  I try searching for it, and I
get a blank screen: nothing shows up when I try to display using
'normal', 'marc', or 'isbd'.  What should I be looking for?  Does
anyone know what might have gone wrong during the installation
process?  I certainly didn't see anything amiss...

Further detail:
Koha version: 2.2.5
Operating system: Xubuntu (descendent of Debian)

Any help at all that can be offerred will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
JR