Trying to use PHP and Apache/Xampp on an offline PC
Posted: 19. March 2008 17:13
All my creative work is done on a computer that is NOT connected to the Internet. It's running Windows XP Pro SP2. Default browser is IE 6.
I've been making a website for the last few weeks, and decided it's time to learn PHP. So, I downloaded the latest "stable" release, 5.2.5, and ran the installer. I ticked the option to install the Apache 2.0 server and this created an error during the installation - "trying access httpd.conf. You will need to manually configure the web server".
After opening a test PHP page and finding it, indeed, didn't work, I uninstalled and reinstalled trying Apache 2.2 instead. The same outcome.
So then I read about the Xampp "suite" and tried that - both the installer version and the zipped folder. In both cases, PHP pages are not handled. (I had placed them in the htdocs folder.)
Now, after a week, I'm getting mighty pissed off and just want the thing to be over so I can start working with PHP!
It's hard to find out crucial information - namely "can you run a virtual server on an offline PC?" And it's hard to find tutorials that just tell the layman exactly what to do - or at least, the tutorials I've found, I've followed to the letter and still the thing doesn't work.
One thing that may be relevant is this: when I open an HTML/MHT/PHP file, IE6 almost always shows a dialogue that the computer's offline, and asks if I want to "Connect" or "Stay offline". The first just leads to the same dialogue (naturally), so I always click "Stay offline". Could it be that this prevents IE from passing PHP files to a virtual server, because it assumes no server can be contacted since the system is offline? Either way, I can't find a way to get rid of this irritating dialogue.
Please, please help before I go nuts.
Thanks for reading,
Seymour.
I've been making a website for the last few weeks, and decided it's time to learn PHP. So, I downloaded the latest "stable" release, 5.2.5, and ran the installer. I ticked the option to install the Apache 2.0 server and this created an error during the installation - "trying access httpd.conf. You will need to manually configure the web server".
After opening a test PHP page and finding it, indeed, didn't work, I uninstalled and reinstalled trying Apache 2.2 instead. The same outcome.
So then I read about the Xampp "suite" and tried that - both the installer version and the zipped folder. In both cases, PHP pages are not handled. (I had placed them in the htdocs folder.)
Now, after a week, I'm getting mighty pissed off and just want the thing to be over so I can start working with PHP!
It's hard to find out crucial information - namely "can you run a virtual server on an offline PC?" And it's hard to find tutorials that just tell the layman exactly what to do - or at least, the tutorials I've found, I've followed to the letter and still the thing doesn't work.
One thing that may be relevant is this: when I open an HTML/MHT/PHP file, IE6 almost always shows a dialogue that the computer's offline, and asks if I want to "Connect" or "Stay offline". The first just leads to the same dialogue (naturally), so I always click "Stay offline". Could it be that this prevents IE from passing PHP files to a virtual server, because it assumes no server can be contacted since the system is offline? Either way, I can't find a way to get rid of this irritating dialogue.
Please, please help before I go nuts.
Thanks for reading,
Seymour.