Apache And Php On Vista The problems I had and the solution

[8ennett 0]

This has taken me the best part of two days to solve and now I've got it working I feel so relieved I think I'll share the solution for anyone online who has the same problem. After constant googling I came up with either useless solutions that state the obvious or contain responses from people who offer no help what so ever. The problem was I installed Apache 2.2.17 and PHP 5.2.14 on a x32 Vista Home SP2 HP Laptop. When I tried to start the apache server it wouldn't work. It did initially but when attempting to restart or stop and start the server it wouldn't. I even tried manually starting the apache server through the windows services app but it kept returning an Error 1067, which was no help at all, and the apache error log simply said it was PROBABLY a bad shutdown of the server previously. I eventually narrowed the problem to PHP and not apache, after a lot of tedious trial and error work I might point out. As soon as I realised this then I gave up for the night and watched some DS9. Today I ran through a lot more tedious trial and error (because yet again the error log was NO help) and eventually narrowed the problem down to the extensions. If you don't have any PHP extensions included in your php.ini file then php and apache work perfectly. I thought it might have been a particular dll however the same error occurred no matter which or how many extensions were included in the .ini file. Obviously having no extensions in php is useless if you want to use a database, use OpenSSL in your php and so on so to make the whole excercise worthwhile I had to knuckle down and work on this specific problem as fast as I possibly could without hesitation or delay...12 hours later I finally got a working solution which you need to follow exactly if you are having the same problem. Download Apache 2.0.64 Download PHP 5.2.9-2 Install apache as you normally would, then when installing PHP ensure you install EVERY sub-option. A spare copy of the php manual and also PEAR can't hurt really can it? Plus the client script is essential. Next right-click on "Computer" (either on your desktop or start menu depending on how you have vista configured), "Properties" then on the side bar "Advanced system settings" and at the bottom of the new window click "Environment Variables". Now in the lower box scroll down until you find an entry where the "variable" name is "Path", double-click on it and check the value of "Variable value" contains: C:\Program Files\PHP\ext\; If it doesn't contain that value then add it to the start of the "Variable value" value, just MAKE SURE THE REST OF THE TEXT IN THIS BOX REMAINS UNCHANGED OR YOU CAN REALLY SCREW YOUR SYSTEM. Right, now the problem should be solved. There seems to be some kind of problem with PHP 5.2.11-5.2.14 when installing it on Vista, and personally the 2.0.x version of apache is in my opinion the most stable. So I hope this solves the problem in case anyone is having similar problems, and if one single person mentions Wamp in this thread then I swear to god I will e-Punch you lol Wamp is terrible, a complete novices choice, it's both unnecessarily complicated to configure both apache and php and also doesn't enable all configuration options in either as well. What they fail to mention is that it is a stripped down version of apache, mysql, apache and phpmyadmin and serves no advanced uses what so ever. So yes, any mention of Wamp and I will hunt you down and slap you round the face with a wet kipper. And don't even get me started on Xampp lol

Edited November 9, 2010 by 8ennett (see edit history)

[vhortex 1]

WAMP! I have wamp to be honest and I will end up with a wamp like version if I compile them myself. The thing I have on my wamp is mod_ssl, open_ssl, mysql, php, oracle brigde and lots more. The one I strip from it is the mail server or smpt, ftp was stripped down since it is really a local server. I don't find any problem on Wamp since I can rebuild all to add the full modules, I just like the right-click and rebuild icon to swap to another version. This is the same version I will have if install them by product on exception of disabling SMTP (blame that to laziness), even if SMTP is shutdown, I can still mail using google SMTP.On topic, Vista and Windows 7 have problems on finding the extensions when you run your Apache, the reason was.. it refuses to load the list of plugins for apache or php since it is not on the patch. I find it silly but its microsoft, they have a very high reputation on trying to block non microsoft items on their products. Maybe you have missed the nag screen on Apache about adding the path on your windows environment or perhaps the developer for Apache for windows removed it thinking that people will already know about it.

[8ennett 0]

I think the path variable is actually a result of vista's annoyingly complex and flawed security restrictions, obviously the first thing i did when i got this vista laptop was disable the user account control and windows defender, two of the most annoying pieces of software ever devised by microsoft. Also I think it's actually essential to disable user account control when installing php and apache anyway, at least that's what I read in all my pain staking research in to the problem. It seems microsoft are actually pushing to have their own development frameworks override any other on their operating systems which is both against the very nature of a PC and a shameful attempt at profiteering. "Oh I'm sorry, this application is not written in VB, let's corrupt a few dll's then release our own inferior version"

[vhortex 1]

I think the path variable is actually a result of vista's annoyingly complex and flawed security restrictions

I have not noticed this part but maybe you are right on this one. I have 3 SDK on my computer for different software language that is not Microsoft made. The installation includes setting the path and everything ensuring that the whole software works. Everything works well until I rebooted and things got messed up, the path info was stripped off by the system. It was fixed by reinserting them manually which was done after a few days of scratching my head and reinstalling/uninstalling cycles including searches to the net on what have happen.

[Atomic0 0]

Getting one of the one-click personal webserver solutions e.g. MAMP, WAMP, LAMP etc, is much much easier that setting up a webserver system from scratch. Having to install all the necessary software and extensions is time-consuming and annoying if you get stuck trying to configure something that simply refuses to work for you. Plus, these one-click solutions come completely pre-configured and occasionally comes with setup programs that simply any changes that you need to make with the webserver configurations.

[vhortex 1]

There are also times where you will need to install them manually instead of using a prepack software. WAMP have some sort of problems if used with certain softwares. It is a good thing that WAMP was created to give easy access on a working local server but on the end of the day, you may find WAMP as a very limiting software. Even if I have stated that I am using WAMP, I will still install the packages one by one even if I need to use cgywin if I have the free time. I do also have stated that in the long run while stripping things that I don't want and adding things I want, the whole group of server software I installed will look like a WAMP installation.