Extreme Newbie Need help ASAP

[adamfabian1]

Hello all. I am extremely new to using PHP and Apache and I am having an extreme amount of trouble using Xampp. I downloaded the installer and ran it to completion. Once i completed the installation, I opened the control panel and both mySQL and Apache are running, however, when I go to http://localhost/ I receive a message that states It Works! I believe this is because of a previous installation I have tried to little success, however, I cannot find it running in control panel, nor do I know how to stop localhost from visiting that same file each time. I originally installed httpd.exe in my system and now I cannot remove it and am unsure exactly how to do so. Additionally, I need to know how to reassign xampp to view the correct directory for PHP. I know the installation is not working correctly because when I navigate my browser to C:/xampp/htdocs/index.php it reads "Something is wrong with the XAMPP installation "

I am using Windows 7 Home Premium. If anyone can help this is urgent please and thank you.

[Altrea]

Hi adamfabian1,

"need help ASAP", "this is urgent"... this is very unpolite!
What do you want to pay for help? This is a volunteer support forum. We all have jobs, families, friends and hobbies and spend our freetime here to solve problems we don't have ourself. So either you have the time to wait if someone want to help you and have the time for it (be patient, because getting help or maybe just an answer can last hours or days), or if you can't wait you should ask for help on a freelancer board where help cost money, because that is the only way you can ensure that you can get help ASAP.

I believe this is because of a previous installation I have tried to little success[...]
I originally installed httpd.exe in my system and now I cannot remove it and am unsure exactly how to do so.

Well, either use the uninstall routine coming with that httpd, or use the uninstall dialogue from your Windows OS.

The first thing you should to is to stop and delete the Windows Service of that other httpd, because otherwise The xampp control panel would use thats existing service instead of starting the components with the command line parameters. So go into your Windows Services overview and search for the full service name of that Apache service.
After that you can delete that servive that way:

• start your cmd (with higher administrative permissions if you are using Windows 7 with UAC)
• enter sc delete Apache2.2 to delete the service (assumed your full servicename is Apache2.2, otherwise replace Apache2.2 with your service name)

After that the XAMPP Apache should already be startable (but as i said before, it is very recommend to fully uninstall the previous Apache installation)

best wishes,
Altrea


P.S.:

I know the installation is not working correctly because when I navigate my browser to C:/xampp/htdocs/index.php it reads "Something is wrong with the XAMPP installation "

Opening a .php file as plaintext in the browser is NO indicator for such a problem.

[adamfabian1]

First off, I want to say I did not mean to offend with my urgency request, I am just under a time crunch with learning this new technology and I was hoping someone could respond quickly.

Second, I was using Apache 2.4, but went into Windows Services and removed the service. I restarded Xampp and reconnected Apache which is running on both port 80 and 443. I again went to localhost which is still referring to the "This Works" page. And still when I go to the C:/xampp/index.php it states the same error message. I am unsure why it continues to refer there, is there a way to change where localhost refers to? Im very new to this and sorry if my questions are very simple.