XAMPP, Apache - Error: Apache shutdown unexpectedl

Question

I've just re-installed XAMPP, and when I try to start my Apache server in the XAMPP Control Panel, I now get the following errors:

16:50:25  [Apache]     Status change detected: running
16:50:26  [Apache]     Status change detected: stopped
16:50:26  [Apache]     Error: Apache shutdown unexpectedly.
16:50:26  [Apache]     This may be due to a blocked port, missing dependencies,
16:50:26  [Apache]     improper privileges, a crash, or a shutdown by another method.
16:50:26  [Apache]     Press the Logs button to view error logs and check
16:50:26  [Apache]     the Windows Event Viewer for more clues
16:50:26  [Apache]     If you need more help, copy and post this
16:50:26  [Apache]     entire log window on the forums

How do I solve this?

Answer 1

In my case, this issue was caused by an attempt to download other product of bitnami, like WordPress. That's common when we install WordPress via XAMPP. It is placed in the xampp/app directory that can be accessed from the XAMPP application homepage.

As a solution, I removed the default installed WordPress from the xampp directory and manually installed WordPress in the htdocs folder of WordPress by downloading it and extracting zip files into the htdoc folder. You also need to restart XAMPP or may system after uninstalling/removing the default WordPress. All is OK for me now.

Answer 2

As I am working in a corporate environment where developers faces firewall issues, none of the other answers resolved my issue.

As the port is not used by Skype, but by some other internal applications, I followed the below steps to resolve the issue:

Step 1 - From the XAMPP Control Panel, under Apache, click the Config button, and select the Apache (httpd.conf).

Inside the httpd.conf file, somehow I found a line that says:

Listen 80

And change the 80 into any number / port you want. In my scenario I’m using port 8080.

Listen 8080

Still from the httpd.conf file, I found another line that says:

ServerName localhost:80

Change 80 to 8080.

ServerName localhost:8080

Step 2 - From the XAMPP Control Panel, under Apache, click the Config button again, but this time select the Apache (httpd-ssl.conf). Inside the httpd-ssl.conf file, find line that says

Listen 443

And change the 443 into any number / port you want. I’ll using 4433 as the new port number.

Listen 4433

Still from the httpd-ssl.conf file, find another line that says

<VirtualHost _default_:443>

ServerName localhost:443

And change 443 to 4433.

<VirtualHost _default_:4433>

ServerName localhost:4433

Remember to save the httpd.conf and httpd-ssl.conf files after performing some changes. Then restart the Apache service.

Answer 3

One of the causes could be that you are not running the XAMPP Control Panel as an administrator.

Answer 4

My problem was that in httpd.conf the DocumentRoot and <Directory> entries were pointing to non-existing folders.

For example, the 'original' httpd.conf had the following entries:

DocumentRoot "c:/Apache24/htdocs"
<Directory "c:/Apache24/htdocs">

If you've installed in C:\xampp then you need to change those entries to match, i.e.

DocumentRoot "c:/xampp/htdocs"
<Directory "c:/xampp/htdocs">

Answer 5

It seems that no one has answered about executing xampp_start.exe.

I did all the previous answers but it did not fixed my issue. I found out that running xampp_start.exe will give you a detailed info about the issue.

This was I see on my end:

As you can see I was having a path issue or xampp is pointing to non-existing folder.

Answer 6

In XAMPP Control Panel V3.2.1, click on "NetStat" button on top right. Make sure port 80 is not used by any other program. Then click on "Shell" Right below it. Issue this command "Type ap then TAB two times"

Apache_Start.bat

You will actually see the exact error why Apache failed. It will be mostly likely virtual host configuration issue or may be something else. It will display the line number on which the error is occurring. Just fix that error. Note that in RootDocument a trailing \ can be a source of error as well. Remove any trailing "\".

For more detail answer, check here