I seem to have gone through a similar problem.
I went through the installation OK with no errors, using the easy autoexecutable option (simple and clean). I noticed that "setup_xampp.bat" did not ask me for option 1 or 2 as stated in "readme.txt".
When I execute "apache_start.bat", it opens the CMD window and immediately closes. So as to catch the error in the window, I inserted a "pause" in the BAT. The error I get is more or less (part is in Spanish):
"<OS 10048> Only one usage of each socket address is permitted (<<<translated part): make_sock could not bind to address 0.0.0.0:443.
No listening sockets available, shutting down. Unable to open logs."
I also tried the option I read in this thread: apache -t. The message I get is: "Syntax OK".
If I enter "apache" on its own, I get the error message I mentioned at the beginning.
I've also taken a peek at "C:\Archivos de programa\xampp\apache\bin\php.ini" and the configuration for my main folder (archivos de programa) seems to be correct.
Any help would be appreciated.