I started re-configuring a new laptop and started reinstalling everything. I tried to access phpMyAdmin locally and it complained that  php_mbstring extension was missing even though I enabled it from the php.ini file. extension=php_mbstring.dll   The php.ini file suggests that on Windows the extension_dir folder is supposed to be ext/ BUT it doesn't work that way. You must use full path to the folder. Don't put a trailing slash. Make sure you change to linux slashes (/) and not Windows slashes \ extension_dir = "C:/Copy/Dropbox/Dev/php-7.1.12-Win32-VC14-x64/ext" Restart the server from the command line which should have been started as Administrator. httpd.exe -k restart...

I started re-configuring a new laptop and started reinstalling everything. These links helped me a lot and more specifically wclear's answer https://stackoverflow.com/questions/41820953/enable-curl-on-php7-windows10-64-bit-apache-2-4#answer-42889258 The php.ini file suggests that on Windows the extension_dir folder is supposed to be ext/ BUT it doesn't work that way. You must use full path. extension_dir = "C:/Copy/Dropbox/Dev/php-7.1.12-Win32-VC14-x64/ext" Here are the steps from obtaining PHP to enabling cURL: Download PHP (these steps tested with 7.1) Add PHP folder to PATH environment variable Update php.ini file with absolute path for extension directory and uncomment php_curl.dll and php_openssl.dll extensions Update httpd.conf (Apache config file) to load php7apache2_4.dll module in PHP folder and set PHPIniDir to PHP directory Copy libeay32.dll libssh2.dll and ssleay32.dll into apache/bin (replace existing) Restart Apache. Restart the server from the command line which should have been started as Administrator. httpd.exe -k restart...

PHP's max_input_vars settings determines how many input variables should be allowed to be passed in the request. The default value for max_input_vars is set to 1,000 and is usually enough. The limit can easily be reached if the php developer has created a bulk editing/processing functionality. This was the case with one of our WordPress plugins which allows people to edit their WordPress media files' attributes such as alt, caption, description called Orbisius Media Property Editor These snippets should allow you to increase the php's max_input_vars limits. You will need to add those lines to your .htaccess file. Note: the settings will work for hosting servers that use apache web server. If the above doesn't work check with your hosting's support if it's possible if they can increase those limits via custom php.ini file. You can check if the change has worked if you create a temporary php file that calls phpinfo(); function. Then you can look for max_input_vars value. Related https://www.godaddy.com/community/Managing-WordPress/How-to-change-my-PHP-limit-max-input-vars/td-p/10706 Can you set up a test/staging WordPress sites in seconds? Yes, with qSandbox you...