XAMPP is a software package containing Apache web server, PHP, MySQL, and phpMyAdmin. You can install it on your Windows, Linux, or Mac operating systems. In this article we will be showing you how to install it on a USB drive connected to a Windows PC, but the installation method are pretty much the same no matter where you install it.
First thing you need to do is download XAMPP lite. Go to the XAMPP download page, and then click on More downloads.
You will be redirected to sourceforge website where you need to first click on XAMPP for Windows, and then click on the latest version.
On the next screen, there will be a list of files available for that version. Scroll down and find the portable version in .exe format. Click on the file name to begin the download.
Once you have downloaded the XAMPP portable file, you need to double click on the file to run the installation. During the installation you will be asked to select the location where you want to install XAMPP. You need to click on the folder icon, and then select your USB drive.
Click on next to continue the installation. The installer will now install XAMPP on your USB drive. After the installation, you need to go to your USB drive and then open the XAMPP folder.
To launch XAMPP, you need to run xampp-control.exe from your USB drive. This will bring up the XAMPP Control Center which looks like this:
You need to start Apache web server and MySQL by clicking on the start button next to them. You will be prompted by Windows Firewall, and you need to allow access to both applications.
Now open a web browser and type http://localhost/ in the address bar. You will be greeted by the XAMPP splash screen. This means you have successfully installed XAMPP on your USB drive.
Installing WordPress on USB Stick
So far, you have successfully installed Apache web server with MySQL and PHP on your USB stick. The next step is to install WordPress itself. The installation of WordPress in USB stick is not much different than installing it on your Windows or Mac computer.
First you need to open your USB drive and go to the htdocs folder in your XAMPP installation directory. Create a new folder in the htdocs. This folder will be your local WordPress site. You can name it anything that you like. For the sake of this tutorial lets name it site1.
WordPress needs a MySQL database to run, so you need to create a database before installation. To create one, you need to open web browser and enter http://localhost/phpmyadmin in the address bar. This will open phpMyAdmin which is a web based database management software. Click on the Databases on the top menu bar, and then provide a name for your database before hitting the Create button.
Now we need WordPress. Simply visit WordPress.org and download a fresh copy of WordPress to your computer. Extract the downloaded .zip file to your Desktop and open it.
Now you need to copy the contents of wordpress folder and paste it in the /htdocs/site1 folder on your USB drive.
Once you have copied WordPress files, you can run the WordPress installation by accessing your site at http://localhost/site1 in a web browser.
WordPress will inform you that it didn’t find the WordPress configuration file, so you need to create one by clicking on the Create a Configuration File button.
On the next screen, provide the database name you created earlier. In the username field you need to enter root, and leave the password field blank. Hit the submit button to proceed.
WordPress will now try to connect to your database. Upon success, it will show you a success message. Click on the Run Install button to proceed.
You will be asked to provide your site information and create an admin username and password. This admin username and password will be used to login to the WordPress admin area. You will also need to provide an email address. In the privacy section you can uncheck the box that says Allow search engines to index this site. Once you are done, hit the Install button at the bottom.
That’s all, you have successfully installed WordPress. You can now proceed to login to your site and do whatever you want. To create another WordPress site on the same USB, simply create another folder in the htdocs directory and repeat the process.