php-5.3

How to install PHP 5.3.29 on WampServer 2.5 32-bit

WampServer 2.5 comes with PHP 5.5.12 and that version only. This is how to add the last-ever PHP 5.3 release to it.

Important: this only works on 32-bit WampServer, not 64-bit

1. Download php-5.3.29-Win32-VC9-x86.zip from windows.php.net
   • It must be the thread safe version
2. Create new folder C:\wamp\bin\php\php5.3.29
3. Extract the downloaded ZIP there
4. Copy the file wampserver.conf from php5.5.12 to php5.3.29
5. Copy the sample php.ini from this recipe to your php5.3.29 folder
   • Optionally edit the date.timezone option to match your preference
   • See the diff between this working version and the standard php.ini-development from which it was created
6. Copy the php.ini to phpForApache.ini
7. Run WampServer
8. Click the tray icon > PHP > Version > 5.3.29

Manual php.ini creation

If the provided php.ini doesn't work for you or you want to create it manually, here is what to do:

First copy the php.ini-development to php.ini and then replace:

;error_log = php_errors.log => error_log = C:/wamp/logs/php_error.log
register_argc_argv = Off => register_argc_argv = On
; extension_dir = "./" => extension_dir = "C:/wamp/bin/php/php5.3.29/ext/"
;upload_tmp_dir = => upload_tmp_dir = "C:/wamp/tmp"
;date.timezone = => your timezone, e.g. date.timezone = Europe/Paris
mysql.default_port = => mysql.default_port = 3306
;session.save_path = "/tmp" => session.save_path = "C:/wamp/tmp"

Then replace the whole extensions block with what is provided in the sample ini.php.

References

• Forum post that is often linked to
• Detailed blog post with screenshots, however, this recipe is somewhat shorter and more straightforward