Pranto Mollick

Posted on Aug 18

🚀 How to Set Up a Virtual Host in XAMPP (C:) to Run WordPress from Another Drive (G:)

#webdev #programming #xampp #wordpress

1. Install XAMPP(Already Installed)

Make sure Apache and MySQL modules are running from the XAMPP Control Panel.

2. Download/Edit WordPress on G:

Extract WordPress, say, to G:\wordpress.

3. Create a Database for WordPress

Go to http://localhost/phpmyadmin in your browser.
Click "Databases", create a new database (e.g., wordpress_db).

4. Set Permissions (if needed)

Make sure your user account has read/write permissions for G:\wordpress.

5. Configure Apache Virtual Hosts

a. Edit httpd-vhosts.conf:

Open C:\xampp\apache\conf\extra\httpd-vhosts.conf with a text editor (running as Administrator).
Add a block like this at the end:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName gamestore-dev.local
    ServerAlias gamestore-dev.local
    DocumentRoot "G:/wordpress"
    <Directory "G:/wordpress">
        Options +Indexes +Includes +FollowSymLinks +MultiViews
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>
    ErrorLog "logs/dummy-host2.example.com-error.log"
    CustomLog "logs/dummy-host2.example.com-access.log" common
</VirtualHost>

Replace mywordpress.local with your desired local domain.

b. Ensure mod_vhost and mod_rewrite are Enabled

In C:\xampp\apache\conf\httpd.conf, make sure these lines are uncommented (no #):

Include "conf/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf"
LoadModule rewrite_module modules/mod_rewrite.so

6. Edit Your hosts File

Open Notepad as Administrator.
File > Open: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
Add this line at the end:

    127.0.0.1   mywordpress.local

7. Restart Apache

In the XAMPP Control Panel, stop and start Apache.

8. Install WordPress

Visit http://mywordpress.local in your browser.
Run the installation wizard.
Enter your database info: > - Database Name: wordpress_db > - Username: root > - Password: (leave blank unless you set one)

9. Test

You should see the WordPress setup page from G:\wordpress.
Log in to your WordPress site as normal.

Tip:
For multiple projects, just replicate the block with different folders and domain names.

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