Cannot install XAMPP as something already exists

apache-http-serverlocalhostuninstall

I was trying to install XAMPP on a friend’s Windows 7 laptop. First, it gave me the error message that it could not install to C:\xampp as the folder was not empty. I had a look at the folder and it contains the following subfolders:

  • apache
  • mailoutput
  • mailtodisk
  • mysql
  • php
  • tmp

So, I thought to myself, maybe XAMPP is already installed. I checked http://localhost, and it gave me a page full of ads, which isn’t normal for XAMPP. In fact http://localhost/ANYTHING gives me a page full of ads. Viewing source on that page gives a complete blank. I do not understand how that is possible.

I asked my friend, whose laptop it is, and she has vague recollections of installing some sort of WAMP server from a USB stick. I tried renaming C:\xampp as C:\_xampp, but the existing localhost is unaffected. I looked through the list of programs in Control Panel > Remove Programs, but couldn’t see any reference to Apache, XAMPP, PHP. or anything with a similar name. There is a program called “MySQL Installer”, but that’s probably not relevant.

How can I find and remove the existing webserver, so I can replace it with XAMPP?

Best Answer

Maybe, some spyware or adware modified the hosts file in order to redirect localhost to some custom URI/IP. You can find the file here:

%SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\etc\Hosts

The file shouldn't be very large, in fact, it's only about 20 lines long (incl. comments) in the default version.

If you have a XAMPP installation on your PC, you can also quickly test whether another program is listening on port 80:

  • Open XAMPP Control Panel
  • Click on "Netstat"
  • Look for a table entry with the port number 80
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