Change PCRE version?

[natch]

Some code I have is breaking with PCRE version 6.7. I'm using XAMPP for Windows 1.55 and 1.60...both use PCRE 6.7 according to php info.

Warning: preg_match_all() [function.preg-match-all]: Compilation failed: repeated subpattern is too long at offset 17043 in P:\xampp\htdocs\xxxxx\xxxxx\lib\smarty\Smarty_Compiler.class.php on line 1251

The developers of the code stated this is a PCRE version issue (though the regex is sloppy) and to use PCRE 6.3 or try PCRE 6.6. The code is known to work with PCRE 6.3 and known to fail with PCRE 6.7. This is not a Smarty issue (and even though the regex is sloppy, the syntax is correct).

Is there a way to specify an external PCRE or how do I recompile PHP/XAMPP with a different version of PCRE using tools available in Windows?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I've tried googling for "php compile pcre version" and other things possibly outside of my realm of current ability (electrical engineer), but to no avail. Couldn't find any instructions in this forum.

Thanks ~natch