Setting up PHP on IIS

All you non-techies probably don't want to read this post. But techies may appreciate it.

Setting up PHP and other open source products on Microsoft's webserver, IIS, has always been ... how shall I put it? ... a challenge, you know like trying to climb Mount Everest with two broken legs. So when I saw a link to "Setting up FastCGI for PHP", I was a little sceptical about my chances of success.

When I got to the page I saw that it had a video presentation on how to do it. I watched it and it seemed incredibly simple. I knew it couldn't be that easy. I just knew that when I tried it there would be problems. There was just no way it would work as advertised.

But it did! It WAS that simple. I now have PHP running happily on IIS on my Vista laptop. There was not one hitch, not one problem, not one weird error message, not one gotcha!

I have to say also that the new IIS 7 Manager UI is sooooooo much better than anything I've seen before. I haven't done a lot of web stuff recently, the last IIS I dealt with was 5, so if 6 had this same manager then just switch the 7 for a 6 in my comments. So far, IIS 7 looks like MS finally hit the mark on making it easy to find where things are so you can manage IIS easily.

Windows Vista SP1 Installation

I finally managed to install Windows Vista SP1. Hoo-flippin-ray!

I tried to do it about 3 weeks ago but after taking an hour to fail to install it then took another hour to roll-back the installation. I appreciated the fact that Windows still worked after the roll-back, but I was not exactly overjoyed at the installation failing.

After the roll-back I was presented with a dialog telling me the installation it failed (you don't say) and giving me a link to an article on Microsoft's Support site that was all about SP1 installation failures.

I ran the disk and memory diagnostic tools as recommended, but nothing came up. The real thing that solved the problem was "Resolution 5: Restart the computer and close or disable any applications that may be running". It recommends turning off anti-virus and anti-spyware, so today, when I finally had the time free to do it, I did just that and ... drum roll please ... it installed without a hitch.

I must admit (blush) that the initial installation instructions did recommend disabling anti-virus and anti-spyware, so I really only have myself to blame.

Well, now I'm using it and I'm hoping that the only bug I've hit so far will go away. The bug is that when I connect up to the network at work on a wire the first time I try to do something on the network (you know, something real complex like copying a file) Windows locks up. After I turn off and restart, the problem goes away. Also if I start up, wait for all the beginning activity to calm down and then do a restart, the problem does not occur. So, tomorrow at work I'll see what happens. Keep your fingers crossed.

PowerToys for Vista

The really useful PowerToys for Windows that were available for Windows XP have not yet moved over to Vista. A couple of them are Vista compatible but most are not. The one I wanted to install on Vista was the "Open Command Window Here" utility, which is really useful - just right-click on a folder in Windows Explorer, select it and a command window opens up.

The good news is that I found some (only a few) PowerToys for Windows Vista on the TechNet website and one of them is ... the "Open Command Window Here" utility! So for all you nerdy types like me who still use the command line and have upgraded to Vista, fear no more! Help and succor have arrived. The cavalry is here. You are saved. Halilooya, praise the lord, etc., etc., etc.