apache + php4 + win32 = satan

Anon

yes, it's true. i've, along with what seems to be many thousands of others, am unable to get php4 and apache to be happy on a windows98 machine. i SWEAR i have done and followed proper procedure on the matter.

current thoughts :

apache is working, .html runs just fine
php is not

the errors i get when running a .php file is as such :

a loud annoying 'beep!'
a long pause then timeout

errors that i've managed to get in the past while dealing with this curse of satan :

a prompt for download of the .php file vs. the loud beep and timeout

i almost know php.ini and httpd.conf are configured properly and i copied "PHP4TS.DLL" to windows/system ("MSVCRT.DLL" is already there) i followed :

php.net/manual/install-windows95-nt.php
c:\php\README.TXT
delphi oracle (this lead me here)
various other comments i've found while trying to solve this most frustrating issue
related phpbuilder article

the problems, as i see it, are as such :

most all documentation is for installing php3 vs. php4 and being that the procedure is different for the two, this confuses people, especially at first.
php4 for windows is still beta
windows.
when i get frustrated i start doing stupid things and get in a pissy mood but don't worry, the gun ain't loaded.

i spent a quite few hours and am giving up for a few days/weeks as if i didn't i'd end up throwing this here monitor out the window. so i'm posting this as perhaps someone knows a helpful tip to get this going. i don't need this working to live as freeBSD is my friend but i'd like to know how. anyway, later i'll reread various posts and do this from scratch with the knowledge i've gained from this experience. i'm happy for trying as learning is good and will continue.

all tips and comments welcome, even obvious ones. afterwhich i'll begin a faq/tutorial on this, one specifically for php4.

frustrated,
philip

Anon

Double check your httpd.conf make sure you've set ScriptAlias, AddHandler, and Action correctly. Also make sure everything is in the right path. If windows98 has a windows/system32 directory put PHP4TS.DLL in there. Make sure you restart your apache service too.

Anon

here are my key settings in httpd.conf :

ScriptAlias /php/ "c:/php/"
- i am running php4
- .php extension is my desire
- this is the location of my php files

AddHandler text/html .php
AddHandler server-parsed .php
- did not see this in any documentation
- is this correct , went off .shtml example

Action application/x-httpd-php "/php/php.exe"
- this should be correct

AddType application/x-httpd-php .php .phtml
AddType application/x-httpd-php-source .phps
- this should be correct

I have :
- have DLL's in both locations (system/system32)
- php.ini is located in c:windows

It displays the .php file but does not parse it so that
in the source i see <?php echo "blah"; ?> . when
I uncomment it, it prompts for download. This means
something, but what is my question 😉

Also, FYI, in php.inc I have :

extension_dir = "C:\php"

Looks like we're getting closer. BTW, after making changes
I just restart apache, do I ever have to restart computer (like
when I modify php.ini), just curious.

All thoughts of course very welcome.

Philip

Anon

Oops... You shouldn't have any AddHandlers. Try commenting them out and restarting apache. You don't need to reinit anything after editing the php.ini file because php.exe parses it every time it is run and that is every time a script is run.

Anon

When I try to open my php files, in Netscape 4.7, it shows the source code. And in IE 5, it asks me to download. This is all the info I can think of:

PHP Folder: C:\Program Files\Php

Apache Folder: C:\ Program FIles\Php

I've added the php.ini file to the C:\Winnt directory. And the only changes I've made are:

extension_dir = C:\Program Files\php

Both the 'include_path' and 'doc_root' have no value set.

My 'httpd.conf' file looks like this:

ScriptAlias /php/ "c:/program files/php/"
AddType application/x-httpd-php .php
Action application/x-httpd-php "/php/php.exe"

What I think may be the problem is that if the Action is set to "/php/php.exe", then Apache will look in C:/program files/php/php/php.exe, which does not exist =/.
I tried setting Action to "C:/program files/php.exe", but that didnt work either.

So I'm lost, cold and hungry, in the deep dark world of PHP/Apache/WinNT.I'm afraid that if I can't get this to work, I'll have to go back to ASP shudder:/

Any help would be greatly appreciated:/

And I really do think that they should release php/apache togther🙂

Anon

cool. i didn't have those form handlers in before but i must have fixed something in the meantime as immediatly following the removel i got this error :

Not Found
The requested URL /php/php.exe/test.php was not found on this server.

which is, interesting. the link is properly placed but how php.exe got in there i do not know. the only instance of it's use is in httpd.conf here :

Action application/x-httpd-php "/php/php.exe"

and according to all documentation, this is correct. for good measure i removed the /php.exe and then got this error :

Not Found
The requested URL /php/test.php was not found on this server.

seems that is not the problem. for fun i created /php/php.exe/test.php but same error. sigh.

thoughts? /me scratches head

philip

Anon

Very interesting...I've done almost exactly the same thing with nearly the same results (it doesn't work) except my error message is a bit different:

Bad Request

Your browser sent a request that this server could not understand.

Invalid URI in request GET /first.php HTTP/1.0

Now...explain that one? If I make a few tiny changes in the httpd.conf file for Apache I get a file not found thing. If I try to explicitly open the file in the browser (instead of entering the URL in the location textbox) it asks me if I want to Open the file or Save the file. If I opt to Open the file I see a PHP DOS box open and scroll a whole bunch of text by and close in the space of about 800ms.

Since my first.php contains only <?php phpinfo(); ?> I'm guessing what scrolls by is the info output itself, but why in the world is it appearing in the DOS box??? Of course, it might not be that, but since I can't actually see the text that scrolls by, I really don't know it isn't.

So, I suppose I'm not contributing anything to this discussion except a "me too" statement and a silly error message...I'd be willing to try stuff out though, perhaps we can tame this daemon...

-Sam

Anon

I just give up the windows platform!
I try anything for apache + php4 + win32
especially for oracle extension. I think
the php.exe is not ok.
I change my platform to Linux+apache1.3.12+
php4.0.1pl2 and oracle is ok to connection . It's very simple to work.

Maybe I should recompiler the php4.0.lp12
for oracle ..... 🙁

Anon

i agree and am giving up, for now. i may try php3 sometime but more likely i'll try php4 with another webserver, just for kicks.

philip
/me sees himself waking up at 3am for another apache/php4 run

Anon

Sounds like PHP4 on windows has problems.

Have you all tried contacting the PHP.net people? I imagine they probably know of the problems, but it's not a bad idea to reinforce their knowledge.

Anon

I suggest we all go back to PHP3 where everything was safe and comfortable and check back in about a month.

Sessions? We don't need sessions.

Anon

better yet, we all can use linux where php4 is quite happy and fun!

Anon

ok where can i buy linue pls tell me

Anon

but i thought YOU were the php people! 😉

yeah, good point. i joined the php windows mailing list and will go from there, thanks everyone ... this will be solved eventually.

it's not all critical for me as i don't need this working but wanted to give it the 'ol college try to see what would happen.

i pity those who depend on apache/windows.

Anon

http://www.cheapbytes.com/

because you asked "where to buy linux," i suggest corel linux but that's a whole other discussion. mandrake 7.1 is nice too, as is redhat ... and ...

if you have the bandwidth, you can download most any version of linux/unix/nix ... for free.

this thread is getting huge.

Anon

Could you followup if/when you find more info? This could help a lot of struggling windows users.

Anon

yes, will do. it's now become sort of a mission so as i wade through all this i'll organize thoughts/resources. the key here, imho, is that php3 and php4 are installed differently and people confuse the two (i did) so having a specific windows/php4 resource would/will be very nice.

it's amazing how support forums have filled up with related questions and how everyone swears they did everything 'by the book.'

which book?

Anon

Hehe, me, by the Wrox one🙂

Anon

I have the same problems as you guys, trying to get Apache/PHP4 to work together. BUT, there is nothing wrong with Apache (1.3.12), it works fine. And there is nothing wrong with PHP4, it also works alright. But together? NO!

My solution was - as I needed to test PHP4/mySQL/Win98 - to swap web server to HTTPD 2. Now everything is working fine, wihtout any changes in php.ini or so!!

Of course HTTPD is a slower web server than Apache, especially when running the same CGI scripts, but it's SO easy to configure. And no all is working...

So there has to be something wrong in the "marriage" between Apache and PHP4. My guess is there errors in the documentation about the Apache conf file!

Anon

Hello

I read have of msgs but not all. I sloved my prob by removing the the fist /php/ from the action.So should have this

ScriptAlias /php/ "c:/program files/php/"

AddType application/x-httpd-php .php

Action application/x-httpd-php "php.exe"

instead of

ScriptAlias /php/ "c:/program files/php/"

AddType application/x-httpd-php .php

Action application/x-httpd-php "/php/php.exe"

OOzy