Installed XAMMP and it stopped working

I am a newbie trying to practice and learn PHP/MySQL.
I installed XAMMP and spent some time exploring it. Then I xed out of the program… without hitting quit. Now it doesn’t work.
Iget this messag for Apache and SQL:

Error: Apache shutdown unexpectedly.
6:48:03 PM [Apache] This may be due to a blocked port, missing dependencies,
6:48:03 PM [Apache] improper privileges, a crash, or a shutdown by another method.
6:48:03 PM [Apache] Press the Logs button to view error logs and check
6:48:03 PM [Apache] the Windows Event Viewer for more clues
6:48:03 PM [Apache] If you need more help, copy and post this
6:48:03 PM [Apache] entire log window on the forums
and this is the error log
Sun Jul 14 14:31:33.054731 2013] [ssl:warn] [pid 5132:tid 252] AH01909: RSA certificate configured for www.example.com:443 does NOT include an ID which matches the server name
[Sun Jul 14 14:31:33.351132 2013] [ssl:warn] [pid 5132:tid 252] AH01909: RSA certificate configured for www.example.com:443 does NOT include an ID which matches the server name
[Sun Jul 14 14:31:33.803533 2013] [mpm_winnt:notice] [pid 5132:tid 252] AH00455: Apache/2.4.4 (Win32) OpenSSL/0.9.8y PHP/5.4.16 configured – resuming normal operations
[Sun Jul 14 14:31:33.803533 2013] [mpm_winnt:notice] [pid 5132:tid 252] AH00456: Server built: Feb 23 2013 13:07:34
[Sun Jul 14 14:31:33.803533 2013] [core:notice] [pid 5132:tid 252] AH00094: Command line: ‘c:\\program files\\xampp\\apache\\bin\\httpd.exe -d C:/Program Files/xampp/apache’
[Sun Jul 14 14:31:33.803533 2013] [mpm_winnt:notice] [pid 5132:tid 252] AH00418: Parent: Created child process 876
[Sun Jul 14 14:31:34.505534 2013] [ssl:warn] [pid 876:tid 264] AH01909: RSA certificate configured for www.example.com:443 does NOT include an ID which matches the server name
[Sun Jul 14 14:31:34.833134 2013] [ssl:warn] [pid 876:tid 264] AH01909: RSA certificate configured for www.example.com:443 does NOT include an ID which matches the server name
[Sun Jul 14 14:31:34.879935 2013] [mpm_winnt:notice] [pid 876:tid 264] AH00354: Child: Starting 150 worker threads.
[Sun Jul 14 14:32:51.369073 2013] [cgi:error] [pid 876:tid 1712] (OS 2)The system cannot find the file specified. : [client 127.0.0.1:54225] couldn’t create child process: 720002: cgi.cgi
[Sun Jul 14 14:32:51.369073 2013] [cgi:error] [pid 876:tid 1712] (OS 2)The system cannot find the file specified. : [client 127.0.0.1:54225] AH01223: couldn’t spawn child process: C:/Program Files/xampp/cgi-bin/cgi.cgi
cygwin warning:
MS-DOS style path detected: C:\Program Files\xampp\apache\logs\access.log
Preferred POSIX equivalent is: /apache/logs/access.log
CYGWIN environment variable option “nodosfilewarning” turns off this warning.
Consult the user’s guide for more details about POSIX paths:
http://cygwin.com/cygwin-ug-net/using.html#using-pathnames
[Sun Jul 14 18:27:11.494946 2013] [cgi:error] [pid 876:tid 1704] (OS 2)The system cannot find the file specified. : [client 127.0.0.1:57389] couldn’t create child process: 720002: cgi.cgi
[Sun Jul 14 18:27:11.494946 2013] [cgi:error] [pid 876:tid 1704] (OS 2)The system cannot find the file specified. : [client 127.0.0.1:57389] AH01223: couldn’t spawn child process: C:/Program Files/xampp/cgi-bin/cgi.cgi
[Sun Jul 14 18:29:37.261283 2013] [proxy:error] [pid 876:tid 1664] (OS 10061)No connection could be made because the target machine actively refused it. : AH00957: AJP: attempt to connect to 127.0.0.1:8009 (127.0.0.1) failed
[Sun Jul 14 18:29:37.261283 2013] [proxy:error] [pid 876:tid 1664] AH00959: ap_proxy_connect_backend disabling worker for (127.0.0.1) for 5s
[Sun Jul 14 18:29:37.261283 2013] [proxy_ajp:error] [pid 876:tid 1664] [client ::1:57406] AH00896: failed to make connection to backend: 127.0.0.1, referer: http://localhost/xampp/navi.php
It did have a message about me running it without permissions, too. You are not running with administrator rights! This will work for
6:44:22 PM [main] most application stuff but whenever you do something with services
6:44:22 PM [main] there will be a security dialogue or things will break! So think
6:44:22 PM [main] about running this application with administrator rights!
6:44:22 PM [main] XAMPP Installation Directory: “c:\program files\xampp\”
6:44:22 PM [main] WARNING: Your install directory contains spaces. This may break programs/scripts

But It was running fine and the ADMIN button was not highlighted for me to change anything.

Any ideas appreciated.
JoniTT

I ran into the same exact issue recently. I ended up reinstalling xampp and the problem went away.

It’s not recommended to install XAMPP in the “C:\program files” directory because the space has historically caused issues.

Instead, reinstall it at “c:\xampp”.

That is where I installed it initially. Though after uninstalling and installing it again the problem went away.