In my PHP programs I call a lot of external programs. In my earlier PHP setup (through xampp 1.7), all worked well.
Not anymore: With the new PHP 5.4.4, none of the commands: exec, system, shell_exec etc work anymore.
I tested exec("whatever.exe") with a path to either C:\path\ on the local drive or to the document root or to the folder of the calling PHP - no success. I also created a batch file calling the exe files. Either there is no reaction or the display of the batch file in the browser. Even $dir = shell_exec('dir C:'); does not run anymore
I know this has been covered various times in the past, but none of the advices helped.
How can I reactivate (I guess, open the security). I checked the disable_functions, open_basedir, safe_mode_exec_dir in php.ini: All blank.
My system: xampp 1.8.0 with PHP 5.4.4 (VC9 x86), Apache 2.4.2, MySQL 5.5.25, Win 7/64, Apache and MySQL installed as services, xampp control panel 3.
Any help will be appreciated.
Gerhard