PLEASE READ BELOW FOR MY EDIT... .php file does not work but .php3 does... why?

Hi, upon purchasing "Beginning PHP 4" I was trying to install it locally on my machine so I could experiment locally but I ran into a few problems. I followed the instructions in the book EXACTLY but since the book doesn't cover Windows ME, I had to follow the instructions for Windows 95/98. I took the Personal Web Server program from the "add-ons" folder on the Windows 98 disk and installed it on to my computer, which is running Windows ME.

I think everything is installed correctly, but when I got to test the php page, I get the general "page cannot be found" with the Internal Server Error 500:

************************************************** *************
The page cannot be displayed
There is a problem with the page you are trying to reach and it cannot be displayed.

Please try the following:

Open the meemitsu home page, and then look for links to the information you want.
Click the Refresh button, or try again later.

Click Search to look for information on the Internet.
You can also see a list of related sites.

HTTP 500 - Internal server error
Internet Explorer
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I've checked my php.ini file (C:\WINDOWS) and the path of the extensions directory (c:\php\extensions) and they seem to be correct. My php is installed in C:\php. The paths of everything else, including the registry all seems to be fine (C:\php\sapi\php4isapi.dll). The asp pages aren't even showing up in the PWS program either. I can't figure out the Internal Server Error at all... any ideas?

Now, there was one problem. While I was installing the PWS program, it had a few errors towards the end. I should have copied them down, but I remember them saying something to the effect of certain keys haven't been registered but I figured that it was only the set up for the php server so it wasn't that big of a deal... any ideas on that too? Thanks!

webmaster@manji-clan.com

SaYoNaRa,

I have used PERSONAL WEB SERVER(PWS) once before with WINDOWS 98 but never ran PHP on it. If you have PERSONAL WEB SERVER, make sure that you start the server and the path is set to I believe C:\InetPub\www. This should have an index.html or index.asp. This is usualy where the default page is pointing into. Just make sure that your file that you are trying to display on the page is in this directory. So, if you are trying to run info.php, I believe that this file should be in C:\InetPub\www\info.php. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the reply. I installed the InetPub\wwwroot folder on my second harddrive so the PERSONAL WEB SERVER is pointing to: D:\Inetpub\wwwroot. It's calling the default documents: "default.htm,default.asp" and the accessing options have been set to: execute, read and scripts.

I put the phpinfo.php file in the right place. It's definitely in "D:\Inetpub\wwwroot" but get this... when I don't have a "default.htm" in the directory, I get the internal server error, while going to my local URL, but when I put the "default.htm" file in the directory, I get a blank white screen in the browser, which means the server is pointing to the right directory right? For some reason, it doesn't display anything. No text or images if I so chose to put HTML in the default.htm page.

When I try to access the "phpinfo.php," THAT'S when I get the Internal Server Error 500... so obviously the browser isn't reading the php file. I could copy and paste the contents of my php.ini file just to be sure I'm not crazy, but I have no clue what's going on! Thanks in advance.

SaYoNaRa,

Ugh! I got the PWS working properly. I think the errors I had turning installation had a lot to do with me not being able to see the asp pages it displays among other things. That's running fine now and when I go to my http://localuser/ URL, I get the "Welcome to Microsoft® Personal Web Server 4.0" page so I know PWS is working.

Now, see if you can figure this one out. I got my registry to work fine, but when I try to access a regular .php file, I get the Internal Server Error 500... BUT, when I convert my phpinfo.php to phpinfo.php3, I can VIEW IT! How DOES THAT WORK? How can I view a .php3 file but not the normal .php format? What's going on here??

Hello, it is me again. In Linux, we have a file where we need to append .php. Like what I said before, I had used PWS and I believe that they have an option to add to execute/recognize the .html, .asp, and .htm. All you have to do is add .php there and it may work. Sorry, I am just running LINUX and hope I can help you more by looking at the screen. Look for that and try it. I have not tried this with WINDOWS 98 but if there is an .ini file that you modify with the WINDOWS 98 instructions, you may want to open you notepad and search .php3. You may need to append .php, save it and then try it again. Hope that helps.