New Install session.save_path Error

Question

I need to do some work locally on a Joomla 1 5.26 site.

Local setup Win7, Xampp, Apache 2.4.3, PHP 5.4.7

I have numerous local Joomla 2.x and 3.x website that work fine however when installing a new Joomla 1.5.26 website I encounter the following error message at step 2;

An error has occurred.:

Cookies do not appear to be enabled on your browser client. You will not be able to install the application with this feature disabled. Alternatively, there could also be a problem with the server's session.save_path. If this is the case, please consult your hosting provider if you don't know how to check or fix this yourself.

As well as many lines of Strict Standards: Non-static method warnings.

I have read that this could be dues to the php.ini file not containing the correct session.save_path - but the php.ini file is set globally and works with my other local sites?

Also it's not a browser cache issues as I have tried numerous browsers and devices. Permissions also seem to be correct.

Not a huge issues as it's for dev only however I'd like to get to the bottom of the issue if possible.

Answer 1

Joomla 1.5 was not developed for thes like of newer PHP versions such as 5.4 as mentioned in your question. Newer versions of PHP may have deprecated or even removed/replaced functions which Joomla 1.5 may require.

I would suggest installing PHP 5.3.x on your Xampp installation, then try running the installation again.

Personally I would use Wampserver instead. Switching between PHP and even MySQL versions is extremely easy (1 click). I don't even think Xampp allows you to do this, however I could be wrong

Hope this helps

Answer 2

This is just an addition to the excellent answer from @Lodder. This is slightly offtopic but offers another approach to avoid this kind of issues.

Nowadays one of the preferred (call it popular) approaches to development is running virtual machines on your PC that mirror as much as possible the configuration of the production server.

For example you mentioned using Windows 7. Probably you are running your live web site on a Linux machine. So it would make a lot of sense to already pre-test your website / development.

Such solutions include Vagrant with Virtualbox. PuPHPet allows you to configure a virtual machine with what you need. Joomlatools also offer a nice solution for Joomla websites.