Written by Admin on 2025-05-06

Troubleshooting: WordPress Setup Windows Tries to Download PHP File

If you're attempting to set up WordPress on a Windows server and you encounter an issue where the file download prompt appears when trying to access the PHP file, don't worry; this is a common issue.

When you access the PHP file on Windows, the server doesn't interact with the PHP engine to render the file's contents. Instead, it sends the file as a download. This happens because IIS (Internet Information Services), the web server software used by Windows, doesn't have PHP enabled by default.

To resolve this issue, you need to install and configure PHP on your Windows server. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you set up WordPress on your Windows server without encountering this issue:

1. Download PHP for Windows: Download the PHP zip package from the PHP website. Ensure that you choose the version that's compatible with your Windows architecture (32-bit or 64-bit).

2. Extract the PHP package: Extract the PHP zip package to a directory — C:\PHP, for instance.

3. Configure PHP: Open the php.ini file in the extracted PHP package using a text editor such as Notepad. Make sure to uncomment the extension_dir directive and set the value to the ext directory inside the PHP directory.

4. Install and configure FastCGI: FastCGI helps to improve PHP's performance and security when used with IIS. To install and configure FastCGI, follow these steps:

   a. Go to the IIS manager and select the server in the left-hand pane. b. Double-click on the "FastCGI Settings" option. c. Click "Add..." in the right-hand pane. d. In the "Full Path" field, enter the path to the php-cgi.exe file located in the PHP directory. e. Enter a value for the "Name" field. f. Enter any other custom settings you require, then click "OK".

5. Configure PHP as a handler in IIS: Here are the steps to configure PHP as a handler in IIS:

   a. In the IIS manager, select the website or virtual directory that you want to configure. b. Double-click on the "Handler Mappings" option. c. Click "Add Module Mapping" in the right-hand pane. d. In the "Request path" field, enter the file extension for PHP files (.php). e. In the "Module" field, select "FastCgiModule". f. In the "Executable" field, enter the path to the php-cgi.exe file located in the PHP directory. g. Enter a value for the "Name" field, then click "OK".

6. Restart IIS: To ensure that the changes you made are applied, restart IIS by clicking the "Restart" link in the right-hand pane of the IIS manager.

7. Verify PHP is working: Create a new PHP file with the following content:

   php <?php phpinfo(); ?>

   Save this file as info.php in the root directory of your website. Then, navigate to http://localhost/info.php in your browser. If PHP is set up correctly, you should see the PHP information page.

Now that PHP is installed and configured on your Windows server, you can proceed with the WordPress installation without encountering any download prompts.

In conclusion, the above steps guide you through the process of enabling PHP on a Windows server, resolving the issue of WordPress Setup Windows trying to download PHP files. Follow these steps carefully, and you'll have WordPress up and running in no time!