OK, I made an attempt to install XAMPP myself, though I already have IIS, PHP and MySQL installed.
The installation itself is xampp-win32-5.6.3-0-VC11-installer.exe, so Version 5.6.3.0
The installer detected UAC on and suggested C:\XAMPP. That's OK
Starting XAMPP control panel it reports a problem starting apache:
[pre]20:59:39 [Apache] Problem detected!
20:59:39 [Apache] Port 80 in use by "Unable to open process" with PID 4!
20:59:39 [Apache] Apache WILL NOT start without the configured ports free!
20:59:39 [Apache] You need to uninstall/disable/reconfigure the blocking application
20:59:39 [Apache] or reconfigure Apache and the Control Panel to listen on a different port
20:59:39 [Apache] Attempting to start Apache app...
20:59:39 [Apache] Status change detected: running
20:59:40 [Apache] Status change detected: stopped
20:59:40 [Apache] Error: Apache shutdown unexpectedly.
20:59:40 [Apache] This may be due to a blocked port, missing dependencies,
20:59:40 [Apache] improper privileges, a crash, or a shutdown by another method.
20:59:40 [Apache] Press the Logs button to view error logs and check
20:59:40 [Apache] the Windows Event Viewer for more clues
20:59:40 [Apache] If you need more help, copy and post this
20:59:40 [Apache] entire log window on the forums[/pre]
So there you also have info about what already uses a certain port.
I did as is suggested and clicked on the Config button of the XAMPP control panel to open httpd.conf. In that config file you find this section:
[pre]# Listen: Allows you to bind Apache to specific IP addresses and/or
# ports, instead of the default. See also the <VirtualHost>
# directive.
#
# Change this to Listen on specific IP addresses as shown below to
# prevent Apache from glomming onto all bound IP addresses.
#
#Listen 12.34.56.78:80
Listen 80[/pre]
And here I changed the 80 to 8080. That's a well usable alternative. If you create a webapp in IIS it suggests using port 81,82,83 and so on. Those are also fine.
Anyway as said I changed port to 8080 here.
Now start succeeds. Next message is coming from Windows Firewall and says Windows Firewall is blocking some functions. I clicked on Allow access and Yes in the follow up dialog.
And voila, XAMPP control panel shows Apache green and says it's running as some PID and using ports 443 and 8080.
And now
displays the XAMPP start page.
Even though its unclear what happens at your PC, the XAMPP installation is not faulty and the config not false for systems not running anything previously installed/configured. You just have to read and react to the messages given, see the signals and all is well.
If you installed once again I suggest you keep an eye on what happens, if you click on Apache Start Button. You also may find a blockade in your Firewall, if you ever reacted to the first firewall warning with not allowing Apache. You have to allow it to work.
Bye, Olaf.
Bye, Olaf.