apache as a background task

ucbones

I finally finished installing Apache and PHP on my PC, and it all works great, I have a couple of questions though:

Is it possible to set up Apache to run as a background task, (is there a program I can download to do this) as currently "Start Apache" appears on my taskbar, and this is a minor irritation.
Why does http://localhost/ work when Apache is not working, yet PHP files that are located at, for example http://localhost/index.php just display the contents of the script, rather than what should be outputted?

Many thanks in advance for your help,

ucbones

raymie

apache as far as I aw aware on windows needs to keep the window open (or minimised) because it does not run as a started task but as as dos program.

localhost works because it is defined in the windows host file, php files do not work without apache running because windows does not know how to handle them otherwise.

piersk

You only need the dos window open if you are running apache on win9x or me. If you are running it on any other version of windows then it will run as a service and therefore be running all the time.

In answer to your question, ucbones about the icon in the systray, all i can think of is for you to use an older version of apache, i.e. one that doesnt come with the systray icon (I think thats anything older than v2.x)