Whilst trying to fix an imaginary problem i had with PHP i came accross a site called phpgeek.com on which was a download called phptriad.exe.
I have to say that although i would never have had any problems with php had i realised what i was doing wrong (navigating to files in IE using File-Open instead of typing the localhost url) one great thing came out of it. That was the discovery of the best php installer i have come accross.
This installs php on windows but not only that.......wait for it.....
It installs Apache web server, PHP, MySQL and Perl all at a double click of the phptriad.exe file you download. No need to do all that configuration rubbish which is almost impossible if you arent an accomplished computer technician.
I hope this is of use to people.
Regard
Paul