Fixing XAMPP 500 Internal Server Error

How can I fix the 500 Internal Server Error? If you're encountering the "500 Internal Server Error" in XAMPP and cannot access your server administration panel or any of the installed domains, just know that you are not alone. The root problem may lie in your XAMPP server's root .htaccess file.

I recently encountered the same error on a portable installation of XAMPP shortly after moving the installation to a new location. In the following simple solution, I will show you how to quickly resolve the issue.

How to fix the 500 Internal Server Error

It should be noted that this error may also occur after installing or upgrading to a newer version of XAMPP.

  1. Navigate to your XAMPP servers document xampp directory. For example:
    /XAMPP/htdocs/xampp/
  2. Delete the .htaccess file within.
  3. Stop and Restart Apache.
  4. Using your Web Browser, navigate to localhost 127.0.0.1 or any of the installed sites to check for the error.

That's all there is to it. If all went well, you should no longer encounter the error.