The Windows PHP installer for later versions of PHP is built using MSI technology using the Wix Toolkit (» http://wix.sourceforge.net/). It will install and configure PHP and all the built-in and PECL extensions, as well as configure many of the popular web servers such as IIS, Apache, and Xitami.
First, install your selected HTTP (web) server on your system, and make sure that it works. Then proceed with one of the following install types.
Run the MSI installer and follow the instructions provided by the installation wizard. You will be prompted to select the Web Server you wish to configure first, along with any configuration details needed.
You will then be prompted to select which features and extensions you wish to install and enable. By selecting "Will be installed on local hard drive" in the drop-down menu for each item you can trigger whether to install the feature or not. By selecting "Entire feature will be installed on local hard drive", you will be able to install all sub-features of the included feature (for example by selecting this option for the feature "PDO" you will install all PDO Drivers).
It is not recommended to install all extensions by default, since many of them require dependencies from outside PHP in order to function properly. Instead, use the Installation Repair Mode that can be triggered thru the 'Add/Remove Programs' control panel to enable or disable extensions and features after installation.
The installer then sets up PHP to be used in Windows and the php.ini file, and configures certain web servers to use PHP. The installer will currently configure IIS, Apache, Xitami, and Sambar Server; if you are using a different web server you'll need to configure it manually.
The installer also supports a silent mode, which is helpful for Systems Administrators to deploy PHP easily. To use silent mode:
msiexec.exe /i php-VERSION-win32-install.msi /q
You can control the install directory by passing it as a parameter to the install. For example, to install to e:\php:
msiexec.exe /i php-VERSION-win32-install.msi /q INSTALLDIR=e:\php
You can also specify what features to install. For example, to install the mysqli extension and the CGI executable:
msiexec.exe /i php-VERSION-win32-install.msi /q ADDLOCAL=cgi,ext_php_mysqli
The current list of Features to install is as follows:
MainExecutable - php.exe executable ( no longer available as of PHP 5.2.10/5.3.0; it is now included by default ) ScriptExecutable - php-win.exe executable ext_php_* - the various extensions ( for example: ext_php_mysql for MySQL ) apache13 - Apache 1.3 module apache20 - Apache 2.0 module apache22 - Apache 2.2 module apacheCGI - Apache CGI executable iis4ISAPI - IIS ISAPI module iis4CGI - IIS CGI executable iis4FastCGI - IIS CGI executable NSAPI - Sun/iPlanet/Netscape server module netserve - NetServe Web Server CGI executable Xitami - Xitami CGI executable Sambar - Sambar Server ISAPI module CGI - php-cgi.exe executable PEAR - PEAR installer Manual - PHP Manual in CHM Format
For more information on installing MSI installers from the command line, visit » http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa367988.aspx
To upgrade, run the installer either graphically or from the command line as normal. The installer will read your current install options, remove your old installation, and reinstall PHP with the same options as before. It is recommended that you use this method of keeping PHP updated instead of manually replacing the files in the installation directory.