barneskd wrote:They both work correctly and all the demos run as well.
Good news and that means that all the XAMPP components are up and running with no errors.
barneskd wrote:...I run the port checker that comes with Xampp and it says SYSTEM is using it....
EDIT: When I uncheck Apache as a service (not sure why it was checked in the first place, I didn't tick those boxes during the installation) it lets me start and stop it. Is this normal?
The SYSTEM indicates that it is a system service running on the port which would seem to be normal in Vista's nanny like environment - a normal OS like XP would tell you what is using the ports.
When you installed XAMPP you have selected to run some of the components as a service no doubt.
This procedure would put the tick in the Svc boxes.
The Svc or
Ser
vi
ce means they are installed to run when you boot your PC automagically and in a normal development environment this is not desired but would be if you had a never off PC connected to the Internet serving a web site.
So when you removed the tick and answered Yes to the next prompt you in effect uninstalled the service (which was to be my next troubleshoot advice) - this can and should be done for all the components including the XAMPP Control Panel (
XCP) which by the way can be controlled by clicking on the Service... button and making sure there are no boxes ticked.
After a reboot and there are no Svc boxes ticked and no boxes ticked in the Service... Service Settings window then when you run xampp-portcheck.exe and no XAMPP components have been started you should see all ports are free.
After starting the XAMPP components and then running the port check they should show what is using the ports - but in Vista's nanny like environment anything is possible.
If all is working as it should then you should be able to enjoy XAMPP and all it has to offer you for your current project needs.
Good luck.