check if a table exists, if not, create one

[eluser]ajsie[/eluser]
whenever i use

Code:

// check if table exists
    $query = $this->db->query(
        "SELECT *
        FROM contacts
        LIMIT 1"
    );

to see if a table exists CI shows an error page if it doesnt exist.

i want it to not give me an error. if it doesnt exist i want to create the table.

but at the moment the error page is preventing me from doing so.

could i disable the "ERROR: TABLE DOESNT EXIST" error page?