location of php.ini for work with web pages

[dontknow]

I want to work with web pages. But system stops at initial stage.
Here in apachefriends.org I've read that php.ini file must be in /apache/bin/ folder.
During installation php.ini by default went into D:\xampp\php\php.ini (I installed XAMPP for windows 1.7.1 into my D drive).
Now MyAdmin php info() shows that:
Configuration File (php.ini) Path C:\WINDOWS
Loaded Configuration File D:\xampp\php\php.ini
Maybe that's the reason? My guess is that system cannot find php.ini file path (for execution, not for php purposes), so it stops on user/password threshold.
In httpd.config file I cannot find any command line where to find php.ini also.
So my questions would be:
1. is it a must for configuration file path to coincide with loaded configuration file?
2. should configuration file path be file itself, not only folder?
3. how to put php.ini into apache/bin in order to be executed and recognized by system (I've tried to copy-paste manually into apache folder, into c:\windows folder - no results)
4. how to write command line into httpd.config file (I use Apache 2, and I've read that path is described in httpd.config)
5. maybe there is another reason for repeated requesting of user/password after loggin , not php.ini issue?
I'm new for such things, so I would appreciate your replies and help very much.

[Nobbie]

>5. maybe there is another reason for repeated requesting of user/password after loggin , not php.ini issue?

Yes.

[Wiedmann]

But system stops at initial stage.

What does this mean exactly?

(Because if you can access and see a phpinfo.php, your system is up and working...)

[dontknow]

'System stops at initial stage' means that I can begin action - go into survey,
but after login to that survey, any action in admin page returns me to login screen.
Warning in survey says: session_regenerate_id() [function.session-regenerate-id]: Cannot regenerate session id
Producers of survey says that reason for this could be 'The PHP sessions directory is not available to IIS/Apache'
That's why I started to look at php.ini.

[Wiedmann]

'System stops at initial stage' means that I can begin action - go into survey,
but after login to that survey, any action in admin page returns me to login screen.

It sounds you have a problem with a specific PHP application and not with XAMPP?

BTW:
phpMyAdmin is working?