Installation Guide for PHP and Apache HTTP Server on Windows

This guide explains how to install PHP and Apache HTTP Server (httpd) on Windows.

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Prerequisites

1. Install Apache HTTP Server

1. Visual C++ Redistributable

   • Download and install the repository
   • Extract the ZIP file to c:\services or another location.

2. Configure Apache:

   • Open the httpd.conf file located in c:\services\httpd\conf and update the following lines:

        Define SRVROOT "c:/services/httpd"
        Define DIRPHP "c:/services/php"
        Define DIRROOT "c:/www"

3. Install & Start Apache:

   • Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
   • Navigate to the Apache bin directory:

     cd C:/services/httpd/bin

   • Install the Apache server:

     httpd.exe -k install

   • Start the Apache server:

     httpd -k start

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2. Install PHP

1. Download PHP:

   • Choose your desired PHP version:

   PHP Version	Download Link
   PHP 5.6.40	Download
   PHP 7.0.33	Download
   PHP 7.1.33	Download
   PHP 7.2.34	Download
   PHP 7.3.29	Download
   PHP 7.4.33	Download
   PHP 8.0.30	Download
   PHP 8.1.29	Download
   PHP 8.2.22	Download
   PHP 8.3.10	Download

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2. Extract PHP:

   • Extract the ZIP file to C:/services/php/5.6 ..... or another location.

3. Configure PHP:

   • Rename php.ini-development or php.ini-production to php.ini.
   • Open php.ini in a text editor and:
     • Enable extensions:

       extension=mbstring
       extension=curl
       extension=gd2

     • Set the timezone:

       date.timezone = "America/New_York"

4. Add PHP to System Path:

   • Add c:/services/php/5.6 to the system Path environment variable.

5. Verify PHP:

   • Open Command Prompt and type:

     php -v

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3. Integrate PHP with Apache HTTP Server

1. Configure Apache to Use PHP:

   • Open the httpd-vhosts.conf file in c:/services/httpd/conf/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf. Using the PHP version you downloaded fcgi enabled & vhost-host configured add the following configuration:

   Listen 9081
   <VirtualHost *:9081>
       ServerName localhost:9081
       FcgidInitialEnv PATH "${DIRPHP}/8.1;C:/WINDOWS/system32;C:/WINDOWS;C:/WINDOWS/System32/Wbem;"
       FcgidInitialEnv SystemRoot "C:/Windows"
       FcgidInitialEnv SystemDrive "C:"
       FcgidInitialEnv TEMP "C:/WINDOWS/Temp"
       FcgidInitialEnv TMP "C:/WINDOWS/Temp"
       FcgidInitialEnv windir "C:/WINDOWS"
       FcgidIOTimeout 64
       FcgidConnectTimeout 16
       FcgidMaxRequestsPerProcess 1000
       FcgidMaxRequestLen 8131072
       # Location php.ini:
       FcgidInitialEnv PHPRC "${DIRPHP}/8.1"
       FcgidInitialEnv PHP_FCGI_MAX_REQUESTS 1000
       DirectoryIndex index.php
       FcgidInitialEnv SystemRoot "C:/Windows"
       FcgidInitialEnv SystemDrive "C:"
   
       <Files ~ "\.php$>"
           AddHandler fcgid-script .php
           FcgidWrapper "${DIRPHP}/8.1/php-cgi.exe" .php
       </Files>
   
       DocumentRoot "${DIRROOT}"
       <Directory "${DIRROOT}">
           Require all granted
           Options Indexes FollowSymLinks Includes ExecCGI
           AllowOverride All
       </Directory>
   </VirtualHost>

2. Restart Apache:

   • Restart Apache to apply the changes:

     httpd -k restart

3. Test PHP with Apache:

   • Create a phpinfo.php file in the htdocs directory (c:/www) with the following content:

     <?php
     phpinfo();
     ?>

   • Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:9056/phpinfo.php. You should see the PHP information page. PHP 5.6

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4. Common Issues and Solutions

• Apache won’t start:

  • Check the httpd.conf file for syntax errors:

    httpd -t

  • Ensure no other application (e.g., Skype) is using port 80.

• PHP extensions not working:

  • Verify the extension_dir setting in php.ini matches your PHP installation:

    extension_dir = "c:/services/php/5.6/ext"

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You now have PHP and Apache installed and configured on your Windows system. Happy coding! 🎉