aaah! apache for xampp has stopped working for no reason

[bakedbean]

I have come to work with my apache server today on xampp as usual and i have found that it just won't work. it starts for a moment then stops. there is no obvious reason why this is happening. yesterday i accidently copied my WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\hosts file to a different folder, however the server continued to work all day. Today i have realised what i did, deleted the copied hosts file and ensured that the original file is as it should be. I haven't changed any configuration settings at all so i can't see how this can be the cause however i can't think of any other possible cause. Has anybody experienced anything similar and could anyone suggest a possible cause / remedy? many thanks.

[Wiedmann]

there is no obvious reason why this is happening.

There is always a reason Just read the "error.log".

[bakedbean]

i checked the error log and it would appear that i moved the startup.pl file accidentaly. i've moved it back and now it works. everything is good with the world.

i must get into the habit of using the error logs!

thanks for your help.