I think I've got your problem now.
he... he... ;-)
You installed everything separately; php works but didn't parse to mysql as expected, so you tried wamp, still DIDN'T WORK THE WAY YOU THINK, that's why your uninstalled wamp; it's not you misunderstood from something I said, RIGHT?
he... he... ;-)
I've never install them separately, so I'm not quite sure about that, just guess it depends on how you setup the primary document root. For example, it's www folder in wamp.
As mentioned above, IT DIDN'T WORK THE WAY YOU THINK, but when you save your scripts in the right folder (i.e. www in wamp), php will auto parse the script to mysql if having the right log in info. For example, if you trying the testing code in my signature, all php scripts for that site (i.e. test.jlbn.com) are saved in wamp/www/test and cgi scripts are in wamp/www/test/cgi-bin, not in any other mysql folder as you think, the scripts will auto parse the code to mysql w/ db "test". Similarly, all scripts for phpbb2 (i.e. forum.jlbn.com) are in wamp/www/phpbb2 and php still parse the codes to the same mysql but, of course, w/ different db "phpbb2". Hope this make sense to you.
So, if you still want to keep yours, you have to setup primary document root properly, but if you want to get help from this forum, you should use wamp since most people might not know what you're talking about when you have a problem.
Have fun
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