Welcome to the Treehouse Community

Want to collaborate on code errors? Have bugs you need feedback on? Looking for an extra set of eyes on your latest project? Get support with fellow developers, designers, and programmers of all backgrounds and skill levels here with the Treehouse Community! While you're at it, check out some resources Treehouse students have shared here.

Looking to learn something new?

Treehouse offers a seven day free trial for new students. Get access to thousands of hours of content and join thousands of Treehouse students and alumni in the community today.

Start your free trial

WordPress Local WordPress Development Local WordPress Development Installing WordPress Locally

Barb Tai
Barb Tai
1,703 Points
Posted by Barb Tai
Barb Tai
1,703 Points

How about on PC? What to do to set up while MAMP is for Mac only?

The video doesn't even mentioned what to do for PC users. What to do for PC users to get the localhost up and running?

4 Answers

Barb Tai
Barb Tai
1,703 Points
Barb Tai
Barb Tai
1,703 Points

Thanks for the timing reply Marcus.

I figured it out. Turns out PC doesn't need extra tool. However, the localhost port(s) must set up correctly or it won't work. It'd be nice to mention in more detail of how to use Apache Control Panel. I can't tell if I need to keep it open in order to run the local sites.

Regarding setting the port(s) correctly, big kudos AF Moderator Altrea. https://community.apachefriends.org/f/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=69784&p=239064#p239064 Skype in most cases is using the same port(s) as Apache. The above link gave me step-by-step instructions to change the port(s) successfully. Food for thought: may be nice to mention this type of glitches in the video.

Marcus Parsons
Marcus Parsons
15,719 Points

That control panel will stay open in the background, and you should be able to access it from the task bar in the bottom right corner and stop/start any of those services that XAMPP provides. I agree that a little bit more information in this video would be nice on some possible hiccups you might encounter. You'll find a lot of support for XAMPP on its community because a lot of people have used it for a long time.

Alan Knott
Alan Knott
1,792 Points
Alan Knott
Alan Knott
1,792 Points

Was just about to follow link regarding the Skype/Apache port conflict, however i did some further research after reading :

"we do not recommend to change the Apache ports if not really really needed. In almost all cases there are better solutions to get Apache running."

I found what appears to be somewhat of a one click solution:

In skype: Go to Tools -> Options -> Advanced -> Connections and uncheck the box "use port 80 and 443 as alternative".

This solved my conflict after restarting both skype and xxamp

Chris Shaw
Chris Shaw
26,676 Points
Chris Shaw
Chris Shaw
26,676 Points

The video in question has out-of-date information as MAMP is available as a BETA now for Windows users which includes both the free and PRO versions like you get on OS X.

https://www.mamp.info/en/downloads/

Marcus Parsons
Marcus Parsons
15,719 Points

You really shouldn't advise someone to use a beta version of a program, though. Also, as I mentioned, Zac goes over installing XAMPP on a PC in the video right before this one.

Chris Shaw
Chris Shaw
26,676 Points
Chris Shaw
Chris Shaw
26,676 Points

I understand your concern with linking to the a BETA release but it works the same as you expect it to on OS X thus making it somewhat easier to follow along with the video as it has the same look and feel, I've personally used it on my Windows machine at home and can't fault it.

Marcus Parsons
Marcus Parsons
15,719 Points

XAMPP has had stable Windows/Mac/Linux binary releases for years now, so I wouldn't trust installing a beta unless I was testing the program out itself for the MAMP team.

Marcus Parsons
Marcus Parsons
15,719 Points
Marcus Parsons
Marcus Parsons
15,719 Points

Hey Barb,

The video right before this one goes over to how to install a local server on PC. You may have skipped over this video accidentally. The application they mention in the video, XAMPP, is a great application and one I use personally. It has application binaries for Windows, Mac, or Linux! I love it!

Jaya Powell
Jaya Powell
139 Points

Hey Marcus. I watched all of the tutorials for both mac and pc.

The issue is that the tutorial skips how to redirect the local host from c:xampp/htdocs to c:sites file as they did with the mac through the preferences section xampp. The interface is totally different for the windows version and there is no preferences section, as far as I can see.

Any advice? I am pretty stumped, should I try stackoverflow and quora instead?

Marcus Parsons
Marcus Parsons
15,719 Points

Why would you want to use a different folder for your sites?

Barb Tai
Barb Tai
1,703 Points
Barb Tai
Barb Tai
1,703 Points

Thanks Marcus. Unfortunately, no.

I watched the video you mentioned. The one I'm referring is showing how to use MAMP to set up the server(s), set password, and what-not to connect the local site with WordPress.org. MAMP was introduced in the video of Installing XAMPP for the Mac, which I had also watched.

A little help? Anyone [in the "house"?]

Marcus Parsons
Marcus Parsons
15,719 Points

Both of those programs contain phpMyAdmin, so it should be the same setup for both. The phpMyAdmin contained in XAMPP looks like the one from MAMP. I can't tell you for certain though because I'm not at my regular PC at the moment.