Hi

I own a medium sized website, it is currently all coded in asp because the business systems are all integrated and required it at the time. With so many people now using php, I want to learn it. Also there is a massive decline in asp scripts coming out, but there are so many php ones.

I really want to start a forum on my website, but all the asp ones really suck, money is not a issue, and I will be choosing later between phpbb, invasion, vbulletin and some others I have found.

Anyway, on a win xp pro machine running iis, I tried installing php, but whenever I run scripts it gets this error apearing as the webpage

The directory name is invalid.

I was wondering what is causing it?

Next question reguarding mysql. I currently have ms sql server running on my server due to the business software I run. I have 10 cal licenses, so it is not practicall for the forum software. I want to install mysql, but would this be compatible on the same machine?

That is really about it for now.

Thanks for your help in advance

    Do yourself a favor, and install a fairly simple to handle Linux distro like suse or fedora core 2 or even mandrake, and install:

    apache
    php
    postgresql

    and use those. phpbb works fine on postgresql, as well as on MySQL. Linux can handle load much better on a smaller server than windows can.

      I really dont want to run a seporate os and stuff, I am perfectly happy the way my server is,

      I may install apache... just maybe if I can not get php through iis working, but as I said I am happy the way my server is and I simply want to add forums.

      Thanks

        What is the name of the PHP file that you downloaded to install PHP?

        Depending on what you are using, some of the packages for Win32 will configure themselves to work with IIS or Apache.

        If you want to install MySQL, you need to install that before installing PHP.

        I do not use MySQL everyday on Windows, but I have toyed with it in the past on Windows, but that was with Windows 2000, not XP. You should check out the mysql.com site to find out how well it will work with XP.

        However, the best advice is to listen to Sxooter and not try to use Linux and related to run your forum. However, I understand that not everyone wants to use Linux or sometimes it is a business decision above the head of the IT department.

          What is the name of the PHP file that you downloaded to install PHP?

          Depending on what you are using, some of the packages for Win32 will configure themselves to work with IIS or Apache.

          If you want to install MySQL, you need to install that before installing PHP.

          I do not use MySQL everyday on Windows, but I have toyed with it in the past on Windows, but that was with Windows 2000, not XP. You should check out the mysql.com site to find out how well it will work with XP.

          However, the best advice is to listen to Sxooter and try to use Linux and related to run your forum. However, I understand that not everyone wants to use Linux or sometimes it is a business decision above the head of the IT department.

            sorry, I did not state, I am only testing on win xp.

            my main website is on windows server 2003.

            I installed php on my xp machine and it did configure for iis, but I do not fully like it.

            I am thinking about installing apache, and running forums on a diffrent port, but I really dont want to get a seporate linux machine for it.

            Thanks

              Okay, but what is the name of the file you installed on WinXP? There are two available on the php.net site. Which one did you get?

                i got the

                PHP 4.3.7 installer

                so it would do iis automatically

                  Did you get any error messages during installation of PHP?

                  Create a file and save it as phpinfo.php

                  In that file, put this line:

                  <?php phpinfo(); ?>

                  Save that in your web server root directory.

                  Does anything come up when you try to view it in your browser?

                  Last question, can you view any type of pages (.html, .asp, .htm, etc) from your web server?

                    I did that, and it works fine, Ive got a whole page with stuff on it now.

                    my other hello world script i copied from a website obviously was flawed then.

                    I also tried installing phpbb, and when trying to copy the directory and going to http://localhost/phpbb2 I still get that line saying The directory name is invalid.

                    anyone know what is causing this? I thought it was something to do with permissions of the php directory, but as this works it cant be that.. (i think)

                      Well, at least PHP and your web server are working.

                      Here is a suggestion about your follow-up question: mark this thread as "resolved" and then open up a new thread. For the subject line, give it a good descriptive title for your problem. If you put "general questions", you won't attract people who might be experts with phpbb.

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