some local hosting problems

well, im back, i had everythign working perfectly and i had to reformat, er.. 'initialize', my harddrive. so i tried starting over from the same directions i had before, and some stuff still isnt working. ok

1) after the first time i installed apache, i went int httpd.conf and change all the root directories to /media/websites, and that worked, but now, even fter ive switched it back to the httpd.conf.default, it still goes there when i type localhost into a browser

2) i also installed php4 (a couple times) and i to test it i jujst made the simple phpInfo() page thing, and when i load it i get a parse err on lien 1, even though there is no php on ln1, mabey its my PHP, or mabey its my code, but i doubt its teh code.

3) kidna related to problem 1, i cant seem to use my IP adrress to connect to my server any more, it just kidan stalls when i try and load it, and i cant seem to ever get to that apache welcome screen..

Well, todays my last day of final, so i have to go in for 9-10:30, and ill be back after that, any little pointer would be apreciated!

replys to your questiosn in this order.

1) send a HUP to the httpd so it will reread the config file after you rename it.

2) 1st: remove php untill you get it working like you had it. THEN you can add stuff.

3) if you can get to it via host name but NOT ip. it is my logical guess your typeing the incorrect ip.

check your httpd.conf with apachectl using the configtest option to check for errors in your httpd.conf file.

ok, i did option 3 and all the syntax was ok
about 1) i backed up my version of httpd.conf, and then renamed httpd.conf.default to httpd.conf, so there shou;ldnt be any problems w/ that.

my biggest thing now is, how do i remove php?

As Optimus said you still need to restart the apache server in order for it to re-read it's configuration files, renaming the existing file and replacing it with another will not have any effect until you do this. Restart apache using the start and stop scripts that it comes with, this will allow it to clear it's self up properly and launch a clean process.

As for removing php the most common, and generally best option, is to recompile the apache binary with the php module switched off - this is cleaner and ensures that you have a binary for your needs.

Regards.