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Windows installation using XAMPP

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Windows installation using XAMPP

  • XAMPP is a package which installs PHP, Apache and MySql (amongst other things) and will enable you to run Moodle on a Windows PC, Laptop or Server.
  • The following is a step by step guide to installing Moodle on a computer running Windows XP using the XAMPP package.

Note: These guidelines are not intended for the Complete Install Package from Downloads at Moodle.org - although the troubleshooting part may help if you encounter problems.

Preparation

Get Moodle!

  • Download the version of Moodle you wish to install from Moodle.org

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Get XAMPP!

  • Download XAMPP for Windows from Apachefriends.org. This example assumes that you have downloaded the “Installer” package.

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Allow yourself some time

  • Say 45 minutes.

Installing XAMPP

  • Run the installer, eventually you will be presented with an option about where to install the package.

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  • In this example we are installing the package at c:\apachefriends\151 – that’s because it suits what our needs, you can choose you own location.
  • Continue with the installation, this will take a while!

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  • Eventually you will be presented with the option to install Apache, MySQL, Filezilla as a service.

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  • It’s probably best to choose “No” for now. You can always enable these as services later.
  • Next you’ll be asked if you want to start the XAMPP Control Panel.

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  • Click the “No” button.

Change PHP version

  • It has often been a good idea to switch to PHP version 4.x before installing Moodle, however, note that from Moodle 1.7 PHP 5 is required for some features.

To roll back to an earlier version of PHP as follows:

  • From the “Start” menu locate the program group for apachefriends > xampp

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  • Select “php switch”

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  • Follow the instructions in the window.

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Launch XAMPP Control Panel

  • On your Desktop, locate the XAMPP icon and double click to launch the Control Panel.
  • When the XAMPP Control Panel has launched, click the “Start” buttons for Apache and MySQL.

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  • If all is well you will see something like this.

If Apache fails to run i.e. the "Running" text with the green background keeps disappearing) and you are using Skype - please review "Troubleshooting" at the end of these instructions.

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Create the database

  • To create a database for your Moodle “site” we will use the phpMyAdmin utility included with XAMPP.
  • To access this launch the web browser of your choice (Firefox is used in this example), type http://localhost in the address bar.

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  • The XAMPP default page is displayed, click the link for your preferred language – we will be using English.

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  • From the menu on the left, click on “phpMyAdmin”

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  • When phpMy Admin has launched in your browser window, enter the name of your database in the “Create new database” field. In this example we are naming our database “moodle153”.

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  • Click the “Create” button to create the database.

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The new database should be present in the dropdown list when the page has refreshed.

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Extract the downloaded Moodle files to the correct location.

  • Locate the file downloaded from Moodle.org and either copy or cut the file to the Windows clipboard.
  • Open the XAMPP Control Panel and click on the “Explore” button.

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  • A Windows Explorer view similar to the one below will be displayed.

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  • Open the “htdocs” folder.

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  • Paste the file cut/copied earlier into this folder.
  • Extract the Moodle files from the file downloaded earlier. A default folder named “moodle” is created with the Moodle files within.

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Start the installation

  • In your web browser, type the path to the folder containing the Moodle files in te address bar – in this example it’s http://localhost/moodle.

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  • The initial install page is displayed.

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  • Choose your preferred language (English is used in this example) and click the “Next” button.
  • A diagnostic report is displayed – hopefully it will look like this, if not you may need to address some issues.

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  • Click the “Next” button to continue.
  • The paths for your Moodle installation are shown – accept these or amend as desired.

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  • Click the “Next” button to continue.
  • In this screen we enter the database settings. The fields are populated with some suggested values.

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  • In this example the database created is “moodle153”. The “root” user will be used without a password.
  • DO NOT USE THE “ROOT” USER WITHOUT A PASSWORD FOR PRODUCTION INSTALLATIONS AS THIS CREATES A SECURITY VULNERABILITY

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  • When the fields have been populated, click the “Next” button to continue.
  • Provided the Moodle folder is writable a message confirming the configuration has been completed will be displayed.

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  • Click the “ Continue” button to proceed.

The Moodle copyright / licence notices are displayed.

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  • Click the “Yes” button to continue, then follow the instructions on the following screens.

Troubleshooting

Skype

  • If XAMPP does not work when you launch your browser and you have Skype enabled it may be necessary to change the port settings in Skype.
  • Locate "Options..." in Skype.

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  • Locate the "Connection" options.

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  • Remove the tick / check from the Checkbox.

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  • Click the "Save" button.
  • You may need to re-start your computer for this to take effect.