At work yesterday I discovered that the localhost Apache web server on my PC wouldn’t start; it was running XAMPP.
Each time I tried to start Apache from the XAMPP control panel I got these error messages in the console:
08:59:34 [Apache] Attempting to start Apache app…
08:59:35 [Apache] Status change detected: running
08:59:35 [Apache] Status change detected: stopped
08:59:35 [Apache] Error: Apache shutdown unexpectedly.
08:59:35 [Apache] This may be due to a blocked port, missing dependencies,
08:59:35 [Apache] improper privileges, a crash, or a shutdown by another method.
08:59:35 [Apache] Press the Logs button to view error logs and check
08:59:35 [Apache] the Windows Event Viewer for more clues
08:59:35 [Apache] If you need more help, copy and post this
08:59:35 [Apache] entire log window on the forums
Fix
Reinstalling XAMPP didn’t fix the issue. But this did, spotted on the ever-wonderful Stackoverflow:
- Press Windows + R to bring up the Windows Run… dialog.
- Type services.msc and click OK.
- Scroll down the list of services to find World Wide Web Publishing Service.
- Right-click it and select Properties.
- Change the Startup type to Manual.
- Click Stop and wait for the service to stop.
- Click OK.
That fixed it. Now Apache is running, as evidenced by the green light on the XAMPP control panel:
