Step-by-step instructions on downloading and installing XAMPP on a Windows PC.

If you get the error message:

Apache shutdown unexpectedly. This may be due to a blocked port, missing dependencies, improper privileges, a crash, or a shutdown by another method. Press the Logs button to view error logs and check the Windows Event Viewer for more clues

then another program, most commonly Skype, is blocking port 80.

Carry out the following steps to solve the problem:

1. Start Skype, go to Tools > Options > Advanced > Connection and uncheck “Use port 80 and 443 as alternatives for incoming connections”.
2. Shut down Skype.
3. Start up the XAMPP control panel by clicking on c:\\xampp\\xampp-control.exe.
4. Check the boxes to set both Apache and MySQL as services.
5. Restart Windows.

If this does not work, or you do not have Skype installed, carry out the folllowing steps:

1. Start the XAMPP control panel by clicking on c:\\xampp\\xampp-control.exe.
2. Cick on the ‘Config’ button next to Apache and select ‘httpd.conf’ to open the config file in a text editor.
3. In ‘httpd.conf’, find the line ‘Listen 80′ and change the number to another number, e.g. 86.
4. In XAMPP control panel, click ‘Stop’ next to Apache, wait for the button to change to ‘Start’ and then click it to restart Apache.
5. Check the boxes to set both Apache and MySQL as services.

Apache and MySQL should now start automatically and without conflicts.