PHP 7.0.6 Released

Apache 1.3.x on Microsoft Windows

This section contains notes and hints specific to Apache 1.3.x installs of PHP on Microsoft Windows systems. There are also instructions and notes for Apache 2 on a separate page.

Note:

Please read the manual installation steps first!

There are two ways to set up PHP to work with Apache 1.3.x on Windows. One is to use the CGI binary (php.exe for PHP 4 and php-cgi.exe for PHP 5), the other is to use the Apache Module DLL. In either case you need to edit your httpd.conf to configure Apache to work with PHP, and then restart the server.

It is worth noting here that now the SAPI module has been made more stable under Windows, we recommend it's use above the CGI binary, since it is more transparent and secure.

Although there can be a few variations of configuring PHP under Apache, these are simple enough to be used by the newcomer. Please consult the Apache Documentation for further configuration directives.

After changing the configuration file, remember to restart the server, for example, NET STOP APACHE followed by NET START APACHE, if you run Apache as a Windows Service, or use your regular shortcuts.

Note: Remember that when adding path values in the Apache configuration files on Windows, all backslashes such as c:\directory\file.ext should be converted to forward slashes: c:/directory/file.ext. A trailing slash may also be necessary for directories.

Installing as an Apache module

You should add the following lines to your Apache httpd.conf file:

Example #1 PHP as an Apache 1.3.x module

This assumes PHP is installed to c:\php. Adjust the path if this is not the case.

For PHP 4:

# Add to the end of the LoadModule section
# Don't forget to copy this file from the sapi directory!
LoadModule php4_module "C:/php/php4apache.dll"

# Add to the end of the AddModule section
AddModule mod_php4.c

For PHP 5:

# Add to the end of the LoadModule section
LoadModule php5_module "C:/php/php5apache.dll"

# Add to the end of the AddModule section
AddModule mod_php5.c

For both:

# Add this line inside the <IfModule mod_mime.c> conditional brace
AddType application/x-httpd-php .php

# For syntax highlighted .phps files, also add
AddType application/x-httpd-php-source .phps

Installing as a CGI binary

If you unzipped the PHP package to C:\php\ as described in the Manual Installation Steps section, you need to insert these lines to your Apache configuration file to set up the CGI binary:

Example #2 PHP and Apache 1.3.x as CGI

ScriptAlias /php/ "c:/php/"
AddType application/x-httpd-php .php

# For PHP 4
Action application/x-httpd-php "/php/php.exe"

# For PHP 5
Action application/x-httpd-php "/php/php-cgi.exe"

# specify the directory where php.ini is
SetEnv PHPRC C:/php
Note that the second line in the list above can be found in the actual versions of httpd.conf, but it is commented out. Remember also to substitute the c:/php/ for your actual path to PHP.

Warning

A server deployed in CGI mode is open to several possible vulnerabilities. Please read our CGI security section to learn how to defend yourself from such attacks.

If you would like to present PHP source files syntax highlighted, there is no such convenient option as with the module version of PHP. If you chose to configure Apache to use PHP as a CGI binary, you will need to use the highlight_file() function. To do this simply create a PHP script file and add this code: <?php highlight_file('some_php_script.php'); ?>.

User Contributed Notes

BCarr
10 years ago
To Besta and 'j dot b..dot sk':

'Add Module mod_php4.c' or 'AddModule mod_php5.c'  may or may not be necessary depending on your environment and version of Apache.

In my situation, this add module DID NOT work or it wasn't necessary.  The LoadModule was enough to do the trick.  I tried it with PHP4 on Apache 1.3.34 and Apache 2.0.

All in all, your notes have been helpful.  Thanks.
psychosos at gmx dot at
11 years ago
Please note that the SetEnv PHPRC "directory/to/phpini/" only works when using PHP as CGI, but _not_ when you use the PHP Apache Module!
frank at circuitdata dot dk
7 years ago
Entries to httpd.conf for PHP 5:

  AddType application/x-httpd-php .php

  AddType application/x-httpd-php-source .phps

must appear BEFORE

  LoadModule php5_module "C:/php/php5apache.dll"

This should NOT be added:

  AddModule mod_php5.c

It makes no sense since AddModule means activation of a module compiled staticly into the Apache. We ofcourse do not have that!
j dot b at inmail dot sk
10 years ago
DO NOT FORGET to add "index.php" into
<IfModule mod_dir.c>
    DirectoryIndex index.html
</IfModule>

so you get index.php processed;multiple values separate by space:
<IfModule mod_dir.c>
    DirectoryIndex index.html index.php
</IfModule>
Besta
10 years ago
Do not add this line to apache http.conf. It does not work.
AddModule mod_php5.c

Also, remember to edit the system variables, edit the PATH and add the path to the php directory and restart windows.
david
8 years ago
Note that if you place php in the c:\php5 director your ScriptAlias line should read

ScriptAlias /php/ "c:/php5/"

This may be obvious to regular Apache users, but I changed all sorts of things around before realizing this was the issue. I thought

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

was a path and was changing it to "/php5/php-cgi.exe" which didn't work.
Anonymous
10 years ago
On contrary to user "Besta"'s post

AddModule mod_php5.c

should be added to the addmodule section. I installed php5 and apache 1.3.3 and without the above line it is not recognizing the .php files
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