Apache is not running from XAMPP Control Panel ( Error: Apache shutdown unexpectedly. This may be due to a blocked port)

Question

I have installed XAMPP (xampp-win32-1.8.2-0-VC9-installer.exe) on Windows 7 successfully. But unfortunately, the following error was found during running Apache from XAMPP C

Answer 1

If you face this issue directly after a complete new installation on Windows:

It seems like the setup program already starts the http.exe process and blocks the initial port 80 but does not reflect this state in the control panel.

To verify, just test for a running server in your browser. Type into your browser address bar:

localhost

If this displays the XAMPP dashboard, you're fine. Alternatively, check the Task Manager for a running 'Apache HTTP Server' (httpd.exe) process.

You could stop the apache process with the xampp_stop.exe in your xampp base folder. Then, the XAMPP control panel should work as expected.