by Nobbie » 25. January 2017 12:08
You cannot replace MariaDB by MySQL, this is not supported by Xampp (you may try it of course, but you wont get any support).
Instead step back to an older Xampp which delivers MySQL (i dont know which was the last Xampp with MySQL, but you should find it on sourceforge).
P.S.: From my understanding, there should not be a problem out there, as Apache/PHP connects to MySQL/MariaDB via TCP/IP. Knowing that, i would simply install a MySQL Package (whatever you need) into c:/Program Files or similar (simply the default destination), then start Apache (from Xampp) but do NOT start MariaDB from Xampp, instead start your MySQL Server from that MySQL installation. I cannot see any restriction why that should not work?! There might be a problem if the PHP MySQL library interacts correctly with the Server, but you will find out that quickly with a small check (simply call PhpMyAdmin or so). If it runs, you are upset. If not, you have to go the other way, install an older Xampp.