Copy the C:\xampp\htdocs directory to an external backup folder.
Because PHP 7.4 has reached its official End of Life (EOL), Apache Friends does not feature it on their main downloads page. You must access their archives to find it. Go to the official website. Click on the Download link in the top menu. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click More Downloads .
PHP 7.4 is stricter about MySQL authentication. Run these SQL commands in phpMyAdmin: Xampp With Php 7.4 -
If you need help optimizing your environment setup, please let me know:
Supporting older Drupal, Joomla, or Laravel projects. Copy the C:\xampp\htdocs directory to an external backup
XAMPP does not natively support running multiple PHP versions simultaneously, as Apache only loads one PHP module at startup. However, several effective methods enable PHP version switching:
Installing XAMPP on Linux requires a slightly different approach, with important compatibility notes: Go to the official website
Navigate to the official Apache Friends website or go directly to the XAMPP SourceForge storage page. Select your operating system (Windows, Linux, or macOS).