Can't set my root password in MySQL

[znavs]

Hi, I'm running windows vista, and installed the latest xampp, and everything seems to be running fine, xampp control panel says that both MySQL and Apache are running, and I can open up PHPMyAdmin, but when I want to set the MySQL root password, it gives me this message:

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"The MySQL server is not running or is blocked by a firewall! Please check this problem first ..."
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Does anyone know what I can do in this situation?

[dormston]

Sadly, I don't know the answer, but I'm suffering from the same problem. Although, interestingly I can work with MySQL databases using PHpMyAdmin.

Would love some help on this one.