1) Download and Install (place magento files as referenced in installation instructions)

2) Setup Database using phpmyadmin (goto: http://localhost , there will be a link on the left to
goto phpmyadmin)
3) Edit apache/conf/httpd.conf change line:
1. #LoadModule rewrite_module modules/mod_rewrite.so
to
1. LoadModule rewrite_module modules/mod_rewrite.so
(just remove the # )
4) Edit apache/bin/php.ini and php/php.ini (same changes on both files - note, as of XAMPP
1.7.1, you will only have to change php/php.ini) change lines (the first change is not necessary
on xampp):
1. ;extension=php_mcrypt.dll
to
1. extension=php_mcrypt.dll
and changes lines:
1. ;extension=php_curl.dll
to
1. extension=php_curl.dll
(just remove the ; )
4a) On WAMP you must also change the following line in apache2/bin/php.ini and php/php.ini
changes lines:
1. ;extension=php_pdo_mysql.dll
to
1. extension=php_pdo_mysql.dll
(just remove the ; )
In addition to php_pdo_mysql.dll, you may also need to make sure you are loading:
1. extension=php_pdo.dll
5) There is a bug in Windows php_pdo_mysql implementation. It is possibly related to this bug
documented here: http://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=39759 and here:
http://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=39858 . Workarounds could be:
using ODBC (will be described how to apply in Magento later)
download http://www.nolimitclubbing.com/lib_php/php_pdo_mysql.dll (mirror for the
file mentioned in bug comments) and add this file to your phpext directory Warning:
broken link.
Wampp has a version of libmysql.dll that works fine. Download here
http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp-windows.html If you prefer Xampp over
Wampp, simply copy the good libmysql.dll from your wampp installation into your
xamppapachebin directory.
Here is another link to the libmysql.dll file:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?yr4mjzwwzzd
Note above file is linked by a community member, FrenchToast and the current download above
is hosted by Xavier ETCHEBER. While there has been no problems with this file it has not been
fully verified.
6) Restart all servers
7) Goto: http://localhost/magento/install (replace the above magento with where your
installation was extracted to)
8) On page 2 Configuration change database as needed and change Secure Connection to:
(XAMPP actually supports SSL over port 443 - so this step is not needed if you want to test
SSL)
Secure Host: localhost (could be different)
Secure Base Path: /magento/ (also could be different)
Secure Protocol: http
Secure Port: 80
9) Continue with install, all should be good!
NOTE:
Magento requires itself to be installed on a host name with at least one period . in it,
therefore installing to http://localhost doesnt work. (Having installed to //localhost, I was
unable to get it running even after the following changes. In the end I had to reinstall using the
new host name which then worked fine.)
If you cant login to the administration panel after installation, thats because theres a cookie
problem. Add these lines:
127.0.0.1 magento.localhost.com www.localhost.com
to:
C:/Windows/System32/drivers/etc/hosts (edit this file in notepad)
Then go to www.localhost.com/<folder>
NB: This was the key note (9) to allowing me to install the latest version of Magento on the
latest version of XAMPP (13 July 2011). You will need to change the permission of the hosts
file in window to allow you to save. All the other changes had already been made in my version
of XAMPP. Once you have made the change reinstall Magento using the downloader and the
www.localhost.com/<folder>.
Additional Resources
A 4 page PDF guide can be found at http://ainove.com/docs/Magento_Installation.pdf - courtesy
of user bradgman (Warning: BROKEN LINK)
Additional information on installing XAMPP and Magento, including video demonstrations, can
be found at http://ipicdg.com/EC/
Known Issues
Magento was developed on Linux and as such, it is most tested on this
platform. Here are some known issues that may result from the use of other
operating systems.

1. Under Windows, image uploads may not work at this time:

here's a fix (from http://www.magentocommerce.com/boards/viewthread/2384/):
________________________________________________________________
login to backend using FireFox, you will resolve this issue.
________________________________________________________________
go to System -> Configuration -> Catalog, then under Image Configuration

Category upload url - /media/catalog/category/
Product upload url - /media/catalog/product/

rename to:

Category upload url - /RootFolderName/media/catalog/category/
Product upload url - /RootFolderName/media/catalog/product/

RootFolderName matches your folder you've installed magento in

Example:
my installation is located:C:/wamp/www/magento
so my rootfoldername is magento!!
Category upload url - /magento/media/catalog/category/
Product upload url - /magento/media/catalog/product/

image upload should work know and you can start working offline