Problems accessing test domain running 1.3.8a on XAMPP/Vista

Don't know if this is an Zen Cart install problem or a Vista config/security problem...

zc 1.3.8a
laptop with vista home premium sp2
xampp 1.7.1

I set up a local domain (https://www.example.com) as explained in "the manual". Everything works as expected: I can access https://www.example.com/store and https://www.example.com/store/admin.

I recently took my development laptop on vacation hoping to get a little extra zen-time, only to discover that I could no longer access my test site. I had no internet access while there, but I didn't expect this to matter. I found I could hit http://localhost okay (xampp pages, phpMyAdmin, etc.), so I updated my configure.php files to use localhost instead of https://www.example.com. I could then access the store and admin pages just fine via http://localhost/store.

Puzzled by this, I investigated further when I got home and had net access. By turning off/on my wireless adaptor I could break access to my test site. Access to localhost always works, but I can't hit https://www.example.com when the laptop has no internet connection.

I also have a WinXP dev laptop configured the same way, so I tried the same thing. That install does not have this problem and works as expected -- example.com is always available.

I'd like to figure this out because I planned to give the WinXP laptop to my son and rely on the Vista machine.

Anyone seen this behavior before? Is it a Vista "security" feature that is getting in the way?

Thanks,

Tom

That's a strange problem. Do check that you are running as an Administrator on your Vista laptop and your Windows hosts file was altered correctly (e.g. as per instructions here)

If that still does not fix the problem, you can save time troubleshooting and continue running with http://localhost instead of http://www.example.com. Just change the 2 x configure.php files to reflect the changes from the latter domain to the former one.

Btw, the book did not recommend XAMPP 1.7.1. If you are using that version, do a search for "port conflicts" in the forums to see whether you are likely to face other problems and the fixes for them

Thx for the response, canopy.

I think the hosts file is modified correctly, since everything works fine while I have an active internet connection. As I mentioned, I already modified the configure.php files to run the store as localhost when needed. I just prefer not to code/test with "workarounds" in place that I don't understand the need for. But, if I have to... I have to ;)

The book clearly does not recommend 1.7.1 for XAMPP, but it worked fine on the XP box and I didn't expect problems. The book, btw, is an excellent reference and setup tutorial which all new zencart developers should consider purchasing.

The more I poke around, I suspect it's a Vista setting that affects how the hosts file is referenced. It just seems strange that I can access http://localhost/store, but not http://www.example.com/store ONLY when I do not have an active internet connection. When I do have an internet connection, https://www.example.com works as expected. I've tried disabling my av/firewall software while offline, but no luck. I'll just ignore it for now, and update the configure.php files to use localhost, instead.

I don't see any other issues, so I'd guess it's more an inconvenience than a real problem. However, I'd like to hear from others with time/interest that have the same config (vista home premium sp2, NO internet connection, recent xampp) to see if they see the same behavior.

Thx.