View source for Windows 1 computer many servers

This is going to be really dumb, but it works.   I got tired of slow refresh rates while building courses on our production webserver.  As I did more testing (as the resident perpetual new user), I wanted to have different versions of Moodle on my desktop XP Proffessional OS computer that were absolutely clean installs. 

Since I am challenged mentally, it has got to be simple. Hard drive space and download time are not issues.  Plus, I can live with only one local version of Moodle running at a time, after all I can open a window to demo.Moodle and/or my production site. 

The Keep it Simple, is an easy way to install Moodle on a standalone desktop otherwise known as a "localhost".  


==Keep It Simple Chris (KISS)==
#Download  one of the [[Complete install packages for Windows]] of Moodle in its zip file
#Unzip it in a drive root (for example C:\)
#Open up Windows Explorer
#Rename the top folder called moodle to something say Moodle_1_9. 
#*Now you should see a folder called for example C:\Moodle_1_9
#run the file setup_xampp 
#*for example this will be found c:\Moodle_1_9\setup_ampp using Explorer
#next run xampp_start or xampp_restart
#*Sometimes  you may get a warning and are asked if you want to block the apache site (don't block it).
#Open up your favorite web browser,
#in the address bar type     
::localhost  or 127.0.0.1
#Moodle should start its install process

You can repeat this process.  For example download the complete package of Moodle 2.0 .   Do all the steps above but rename the folder C:\Moodle_2_0.   

Want to upgrade the Moodle in the folder with 1_9?  Easy, just download a [[Standard Moodle distribution]] package, unzip it so you extract to the folder Moodle_1_9.   You will want to make sure you copy all files, so you replace all the existing files in Moodle_1_9\moodle downward.

==Tips and tricks==
#'''Tip:''' With this method, you can only run one version of Moodle at a time.  Start each version using the xampp_start or xampp_restart from the right drive.   
#* Why xampp_restart?  Saves using xampp_stop, which must be done if you are switching moodles
#'''Tip:''' I make a short cut to my 3 different xampp_restart program, rename the short cut to say something like Moodle17clean, Moodle18AL, Moodle19beta and MoodleProduction.   I put those shortcuts on my start menu.  
#'''Tip:''' One of "My Favorites" web places is called "localhost".
#*Mozilla Firefox (newer versions of IE may do this) allows me to create bookmarks. I have one called LocalHost and another points to our real production Moodle site on the web. 
#*Mozilla Firefox (newer versions of IE may do this) allow me to create seperate tabs. I will have one tab open to my production Moodle, another one to a localhost and probably a 3rd to MoodleDocs.
#'''Tip:''' [[User:chris collman/TestingProcess |I test 3rd party]] add ons and hacks every now and then.  If I think I will get into trouble after installing the test feature, I first:
#*I create a clean install in folder (for example Moodle18_Certificate). 
#*I upload and restore a simple course with 20 fictional participants which I have backed up and downloaded for this purpose. 
#*Then I zip or rar archive the Moodle18_Certificate folder with the one course.
#*After I discover I made a mistake with the 3rd party module, 
#*I rename the folder Moodle18_Certificate to Moodle_junk1.  Then I unpack my Moodle18_Certificate zip.  Deleting a Moodle install takes a while, so I rename and delete it later when I am having a cuppa.    
#'''Tip:''' I like my Moodles to be the higher level directories, and all start with Moodle something.  
#'''Tip:''' I like to use different themes for each of my Moodles, or at least make sure the site name lets me know which version I am using.
#'''Trick:''' It is possible to reach different web servers on the same machine at the same time.  But it is not simple. The big picture is to have Apache look for a different IP than the default.  This means editing ../apache/conf/httpd.config .  I like the 1 at a time method so I do not get confused.

==Summary ==
Like I said, this is dumb and there are probably easier ways than the shorter approach.  But it gives absolute seperation of different versions, which developers have grown to trust <big grin>. And I can set up a Moodle in under 10 minutes from the time I click on the download complete install package. --[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 14:49, 21 March 2007 (CDT)

==See Also==
[[User:chris_collman/TestingProcess|Chris's test process]]

[[Complete_install_packages]]