Apache Friends Support Forum

Here's my problem: I am a senior trying that has built a static web site and now want to take the next step and build a dynamic site. I have Windows XP professional running on my computer. I do have IIS on it but could not get it to work, and was told that Apache would be the way to go. I want to use the Apache so I can practice building, using PHP and learning MySql before posting to my host server.
I installed the Apache with the installer. It went very smoothly until I went to my browser typed in http://localhost and a window came up asking me for a password and user. I have no idea what to type in as I never installed anything on Apache. Is there something I'm missing here, or did I install incorrectly. Any help would be appreciated, some direction is what I need now.
russ

and a window came up asking me for a password and user.

I think this comes from a working IIS.
--> Enter 3x wrong password and read the error message (server name at the bottom of the page).