This tutorial assumes that you have XAMPP 1.7.3 installed.

The procedure should be the same for other versions of XAMPP.

A XAMPP installation procedure for Windows XP can be found here.

Click on images for full sized versions.

(1) Enter http://localhost/phpmyadmin into your browser’s URL field. This will bring you to the phpmyadmin main page.

(2) Click on the Databases tab.  This will bring you to a page listing all your databases.

(3) Select the databases you wish to drop by clicking on the checkbox next to them. Then click on the drop icon located below the databases

cdcol is the cd collection sample database that comes with XAMPP – it is safe to delete, if you like, just be WARNED that the application will no longer work.

information_schema is a necessary database for XAMPP to run correctly. Do NOT delete it. (You shouldn’t be able to select it, anyway.)

mysql is another essential database for XAMPP to run correctly. Do NOT delete it. (You shouldn’t be able to select it, anyway.)

phpmyadmin is essential for phpmyadmin to run correctly. Do NOT delete it. Unfortunately, it is possible for you to select this – DON’T.

All other databases are the ones you created and are safe to delete if you wish. WARNING: deleting a database will render the application it was created for inoperable.

(4) Confirm you wish to delete the databases listed and click on Yes.

The term drop is used with databases because, typically, they do not actually delete the database or fields or records, but rather mark them not to be used, i.e. dropped from use.

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These instructions are for installing XAMPP 1.7.3 on Windows XP, Service Pack 3. It should work for other configurations as well.

XAMPP 1.7.4 (released in January 2011). I had no problem with the install and most things work just fine, however, there are many little things that require “expert” tinkering to get it working right. Because of this, I cannot recommend it to someone just looking for a straightforward install with minimal tinkering. See also this discussion thread at Apache Friends which covers in more detail the various issues.

XAMPP 1.7.7 (released in Septemeber 2011) is the latest version. I had no problem with the install and most things work just fine, however, there are many little things that require “expert” tinkering to get it working right (it is much stricter on PHP errors than 1.7.3 is – a flag change to fix that). Because of this, I cannot recommend it to someone just looking for a straightforward install with minimal tinkering. It has a new phpmyadmin interface (unfortunately, it defaults to German – easily changed, though). It still exludes the port checker present in version 1.7.3 (which is a really useful debug tool).

Click on images for full sized versions.

XAMPP is an extremely easy to install and use Apache Server which comes bundled with MySQL (a database), PHP (server side scripting language), Perl (another server side scripting language), FileZilla FTP Server and Mercury Mail Transport System.

Why would I want to install it?

To allow development and testing on your local machine instead of on a remote (and probably live) server. I use it to test out changes to my website before uploading and committing changes to the real site.

Installation

Download the self extracting package, run it and, in most cases, accept the default settings.

Downloading

1) Go to the SourceForge website and select xampp-win32-1.7.3.exe to download XAMP (this is the self extracting version with the built-in installer):

2) You will be redirected to a download page. If the download does not start in a few seconds, click on the direct download link:

3) Select to either Save the file or to Run it directly over the Internet. Saving allows you to uninstall and reinstall if necessary:

Extracting

4)  Enter the location to extract XAMPP into. By default, it selects the C:\ drive. I entered my D:\ drive because I have more space there. [NOTE: XAMPP will automatically create a folder called \XAMPP in the directory you specify, having C:\ as your install folder will result in XAMPP being installed in C:\XAMPP\]. Click on the Install button:

Configuring

The XAMPP installation will ask a few configuration questions. It should be safe to accept the defaults.

5) Enter y and press the Enter / Return key for the prompt: Should I add shortcuts to the startmenu/desktop? (y/n): y

6) Enter y and press the Enter / Return key for the prompt:

Should I locate the XAMPP paths correctly?

Should I proceed? (y/x=exit setup): y

7) Enter n and press the Enter / Return key for the prompt:

Should I make a portable XAMPP without drive letters?

NOTE: – You should use drive letters, if you want use services.
      – With USB sticks you must not use drive letters.

Your choice? (y/n): n

8) Press the Enter / Return key for the prompt:

XAMPP is ready to use.

Press to continue:

9) Press the Enter / Return key for the prompt:

I have set the timezone in ‘php.ini’ and ‘my.ini’ to “America/New_York”.

You should correct these values if my guess was wrong.

Press to continue:

10) Enter 1 and press the Enter / Return key for the prompt: Please choose (1-7/x): 1. This will start the XAMPP control panel:

Setting Up

11) Click the two check boxes labelled Svc located next to the Apache and MySQL labels. This will install both services for you:

12) Press OK when prompted to install the Apache Service and MySQL service:

13) Observe that the services are now running. If the services are not running, then you need to manually start them. See step (14).

14) If the Apache and MySql services did not start when you installed them, then click on the Start button beside each service. NOTE: The Apache service can take several seconds to start and the application may look as though it is hung – just wait. If the Apache service does not start, see Troubleshooting below.

Testing The Installation

XAMPP is now setup and ready to use on your computer.

To test, launch your browser and enter:

http://localhost

into your navigation bar. You should see the following display:

Troubleshooting

Sometimes the Apache Server will not run. This is most often caused by some other application using port 80 (the http port).

1) Click on Port-Check to see if any other applications or services are using port 80.

2) A console window will appear and XAMPP PortCheck will run. Sample results are shown in the image below. In this case, uTorrent is using port 80 and preventing Apache Server from running. The solution is to either shutdown uTorrent or change its configuration to use a different port.

The more common cause is that Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) is running. Instructions for disabling the IIS can be found here.

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