Cowboy’s Weblog

First we copy this article (in case it disappears in the future)

http://www.jeremyweisser.com/index.php/2008/01/07/wordpress-on-windows-server-2003-r2-x64-edition/

WordPress has removed any official instructions from their website regarding installation procedures on Windows based hardware. Though one can easily find documentation on the web detailing a typical 32 bit Windows server installation, finding installation instructions for x64 version of Windows server is pretty tough.

As it turns out, the largest obstacle to completing a successful WordPress installation on a 64 bit Windows server is the fact that PHP does not distribute a 64 bit version of the PHP Windows Binaries. As a result, installation of PHP must be done manually using a third party package provided by Fusion-X LAN.

“This is the only known-of distribution for 64-bit PHP, or the “PHPx64 Project” (Windows x64)! With these binaries you’ll finally be able to use your 64-bit server hardware with powerful 64-bit software.”

I will detail the installation and configuration of PHP 5 on x64 Edition below:

Step-by-Step Installation Instructions:

PHP

1. Download the latest version of the 64 bit PHP binaries from the website link provided above (in my case this was php-5.2.5-x64-2007-11-12.zip), extract the contents of the folder to “C:\PHP”.
2. The IIS user (usually IUSR_MACHINENAME) needs permission to read files within the PHP directory, such as “php.ini”. Give the account READ permissions on the newly created directory.
3. Within the “C:\PHP” directory, look for and rename the file named “php.ini-recommended” to “php.ini”
4. Open “php.in” and set the extension_dir value to “C:\PHP\ext”
5. Add the PHP directory to the PATH on Windows Server
   • Go to Control Panel and open the System icon
   • Go to the Advanced tab
   • Click on the ‘Environment Variables’ button
   • Look into the ‘System Variables’ pane
   • Find the Path entry (you may need to scroll to find it)
   • Double click on the Path entry
   • Enter your PHP directory at the end, including ‘;’ before (e.g. ;C:\PHP)
   • Press OK and restart your server
6. Make the “php.ini” file available to PHP on Windows Server by setting the PHPRC environment variable:
   • Go to Control Panel and open the System icon
   • Go to the Advanced tab
   • Click on the ‘Environment Variables’ button
   • Look into the ‘System Variables’ pane
   • Click on ‘New’ and enter ‘PHPRC’ as the variable name and the directory where php.ini is located as the variable value (e.g. C:\PHP)
   • Press OK and restart your server

IIS

1. Set IIS to run in 64 bit mode. From MS KB article 894435:
   • Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
   • Type the following command to disable the 32-bit mode:
     cscript %SYSTEMDRIVE%\inetpub\adminscripts\adsutil.vbs SET W3SVC/AppPools/Enable32bitAppOnWin64 0
   • Type the following command to install the version of ASP.NET 2.0 and to install the script maps at the IIS root and under:
     %SYSTEMROOT%\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v2.0.50727\aspnet_regiis.exe -i
   • Make sure that the status of ASP.NET version 2.0.50727 is set to Allowed in the Web service extension list in Internet Information Services Manager.
2. Open up the IIS 6 Manager, go to Web Service Extensions, choose “Add a new Web service extension”, enter in a name such as PHP, choose the Add button and for the value browse to the ISAPI file “C:\PHP\php5isapi.dll” then check “Set extension status to Allowed” and click OK.
3. Restart your server