PHP making me stay up very late

[latenights]

For Windows 2000, apache 2.2.8, php 5.2.5, mysql server 5.0

I am trying out open source accounting packages and I need to install PHP. I am not used to installing open source software. I installed the latest Apache, PHP, and MySQL. The "test.php" script worked. MySQL would not add a user.

I tried to install phpMyAdmin-2.11.5-rc1-english and got errors that it couldn't load php_mysql.dll and php_mysqli.dll modules. After several hours I finally discovered that I needed to go back and use windows "Add/Remove Programs" to change PHP installation to install those extensions. I now added the correct paths to php.ini

extension_dir="G:Program FilesApache2.2PHPext"
extension=php_mysql.dll
extension=php_mysqli.dll

to the php.ini file.

Recall, test.php worked before. Now when I try to load "test.php" or any .php, Firefox opens window "What should Firefox do with this file?" Open with, Save, etc. PHP is not working. I scoured the web and applied every advice I can find, but PHP does not work.

How to figure out what it needs?

[Zyppora]

Apache doesn't know what to do with the .php extension. Off the top of my head, you'll have to configure Apache to run .php files by the PHP engine (which is accessed through the PHP module in the Apache dir). httpd.conf needs to be edited.

[latenights]

I have since reinstalled from the start
I have these lines in httpd.conf, the first two were added by PHP installer, the  second two I added according to advice:

PHPIniDir "G:/Program Files/PHP/"
LoadModule php5_module "G:/Program Files/PHP/php5apache2_2.dll"
AddType application/x-httpd-php .php
AddType application/x-httpd-php-source .phps

Are there others that you can suggest?

[latenights]

Going through each step manually and restarting apache each time, PHP finally worked when I copied php_mysql.dll and php_mysqli.php to c:WINNTSystem32 and restarted apache. Although I had placed them there before. This time I also put the PHP root directory to Program Files, last time it was in Apache directory. I don't know. Now it works.