The problem: Downloaded XAMPP, followed the instructions, but http://localhost/ would not view file.
The solution: After two days of trial and error and the assistance of a couple Apache Friends, we were successful in getting XAMPP to work on my Vista Ultimate (64bit) computer. This is a re-cap of what it took:
I reinstalled 1.7.1 (the 7-zip version!) after completely uninstalling the previous version. (I found no traces of old left on.) IMPORTANT: Use only the "EXE (7-zip)" version because the "Installer" version is simply too problematic.
The location of the files need to be in c:\xampp.
After installation, select: setup_xampp.bat (it will do a few automatic things quickly, then will say done.)
Click on the xampp-control.exe so that the Control Panel appears.
Start Apache and MySql (but do not click the Svc boxes yet). These items should now have "running" highlighted in green.
Go to your browser (clear your browser cache first) and type: http://localhost/.
IF YOU GET THE "connection interrupted" message, then you need to do the following:
Disable your User Account Control (UAC) by going to your computer's Control Panel > User Accounts. Here you will be given the option to "Turn User Account Control on or off".
Then, you will need to alter the "host" file. Go to C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc\Hosts file and open it in your text editor (notepad is best). Find this line:
::1 localhost
Comment it out so it looks like this:
# ::1 localhost
Save the file and then try and access http://localhost/ again.
(NOTE: Above # ::1 localhost there needs to be this location: 127.0.0.1 localhost
It should then look like this:
127.0.0.1 localhost
# ::1 localhost
Clear your cache once again and go to http://localhost/
For more on this, go to the following thread: viewtopic.php?f=16&t=34713&p=141337#p141337
Big thanks to Sharley for figuring this out!!!