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I had installed php and mysql on Windows Server 2003 Web edition many years ago. The hard drive crashed on December 23rd, 2021, and although I had all our data backed up, I did not have a system backup to save the OS and all configurations/installations. I have php scripts to bridge Adobe Air and mysql, so I have to stick with php.

Installing PHP 5.3 on IIS6, as was what was running before. The installation with FastCGI is straight forward and fairly simple to get php running, but I am stuck. After following the dozen or so "how-to" guides floating around the web, I am left with the same issue no matter what I try.

When running php.exe from the command line, I get "Access is denied"

I changed security of C:\PHP to allow full control for all users. I changed the application pool identity to local system from network service. I double-checked the .ini configs for php.ini and fcgiext.ini. I believe every location for path variables has been updated/set properly.

At this point, I'm leaning toward something in IIS or Windows blocking access, but I have run out of ideas/options. A new server is being ordered, but we need to get this one up and running so we can limp along until we have new hardware/software to install our programs on.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

user3221479
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    Just to say...why on earth are you still running such ancient software (both o/s and php version) at all? It should have been binned years ago, not waiting until it breaks, and with no proper backup (at minimum it could have been virtualised). – ADyson Jan 03 '22 at 21:49
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    Anyway without seeing the machine, realistically we can't troubleshoot or check anything. And I'm not sure this qualifies as a programming question either, more of a server configuration issue. You could check if Server Fault would accept a question of this nature. – ADyson Jan 03 '22 at 21:51
  • P.s. just one observation - if the problem comes when running php from the command line, then it can't be anything to do with IIS. Can you execute php code via web requests? Do you actually even need to be able to run it from the command line? It wasn't clear, since you described installing it into IIS. – ADyson Jan 03 '22 at 21:53
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    Appreciate the comments. And yes, we should have updated long ago. But things were working fine and this is a closed system. We use the server locally and don't give access outside our lan. Still not a good reason to thumb our noses at updating. Your point is well taken. – user3221479 Jan 04 '22 at 15:31
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    Regarding the command line, it was used just to test the php installation. I cant bring up index.php, which only contains , with the browser. I get a fastcgi error page telling me that fastcgi isn't configured correctly. I manually configured it as well as tried the fcgiconfig.js to configure it as well. There's literally 2 lines to configure for the simple installation. I'm not sure how that is getting screwed up. Since I couldn't get to index.php, my next step was the command line. The "access is denied" took me down a completely different rabbit hole. – user3221479 Jan 04 '22 at 15:38
  • Thanks again for you comments because you indirectly solved my problem. I didn't know about Server Fault. I've only ever posted questions here. The server admin thing is a little out of my wheelhouse (obviously). The issue was that I was configuring the php.ini file in the C:\PHP folder and not the one in the system folder. Stupid, yes. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. – user3221479 Jan 04 '22 at 16:02
  • Easily done...and I'm glad that's all it was and you could fix it. Now, to get on with your upgrade!! Good luck. – ADyson Jan 04 '22 at 16:07

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This might be a long shot but have you tried to check that the .exe isn't set to "Read-Only" also you can try take ownership of the folder with the following: Take Ownership on Right Click

Dean Byron
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  • Thanks for the answer. I was hoping it would be something as simple as that, but unfortunately, it isn't set to read-only. – user3221479 Jan 04 '22 at 15:27