Prerequisites

• Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit)
• Administrative privileges on your computer
• Internet connection for downloading PHP
• Web server (e.g., Apache, IIS) installed (optional)

Installation

1. Visit the official PHP website: https://windows.php.net/download/
2. Download the PHP 8.1 zip package (Thread Safe or Non-Thread Safe version, depending on your needs)
3. Create a new folder in your C: drive, e.g., C:\php
4. Extract the contents of the zip file to the newly created folder
5. Rename the php.ini-development file to php.ini
6. Open php.ini in a text editor and make the following changes:
   • Uncomment the line containing extension_dir by removing the semicolon (;) at the beginning
   • Uncomment any extensions you need (e.g., mysqli, pdo_mysql)
7. Add the PHP directory (C:\php) to your system's PATH environment variable
8. If using a web server, configure it to work with PHP (refer to your web server's documentation)

Verification

1. Open a command prompt and type php -v. This should display the PHP version information.
2. Create a file named info.php in your web server's document root with the following content:

   <?php phpinfo(); ?>

3. Access the info.php file through your web browser (e.g., http://localhost/info.php). You should see the PHP information page.
4. Check that the PHP version displayed is 8.1.x and that all required extensions are enabled.