Having problems getting started with apache

I am a complete noob regarding apache itself, even tough i already have some experience when using HFS for example, i am having big problems getting a html file on my hard drive showing up. I keep getting the 403 forbidden error or the 404 file not found error... please anyone that understands about apache help me, i already did tons of google searching (and spent several wasted hours that's why i am doing the post as a last resourt) and ALL solutions i found NONE of them solve the problem, i can't understand why is it SO difficult setting up apache, while with other http servers like hfs was so easy... I also fiddled as much as i could the httpd.conf file and it never works.

I need to know, amongst a lot other things to know this because i will take a certificate for a computer technician, and so i have to study by myself the topics they gaved me in a paper, and some of them are :

"install and setup a "apache" web server
manages the websites, users and accesses

Altough since i have to learn how to use this, maybe i could use it for myself as well, even tough i need mostly to share files from my computer with other friends of mine on the internet.

I don't know much about MySQL and PHP, since i only know how to do html editing, so setting up a site is quite new to me.

Ok i will check the guide tomorrow and then i give some feedback, thanks logicearth for this :) (and yes that's the same version of apache i downloaded)

Are you running Apache on Windows 7? Maybe if we could get some more information on what you are doing...we could lend a hand.

Yes that's right, i am using windows 7 ultimate, and i am using apache (apache_2.2.14-win32-x86-openssl-0.9.8k.msi) and i installed apache.

Now i have just read the guide that was posted here, and i notice that when typing "http://localhost/" the apache server is working correctly after all, the problem is when trying to access it's page from another computer on the internet, using the links i entered in the "network domain" and "server name", because when i try to access the folder using those links i wrote in those fields, i always get a 403 or 404 error, i have tried many things that i found on google to fix this problem, but it never gets fixed, i don't even get any error in apache's log at all!

Unless it's absolutly required to install PHP and install Internet Information Services to be able to someone else acess my page ? (at the moment my webpage is just the index.html since i don't plan on running a website from my computer for real, it's just to learn how to do it for the exams i will have to do to get the certificate).

note : one of the guides i have seen before posting here was http://articles.techrepublic.com.com...1-6048525.html and it doesn't talk about php or iis in there, and also i am unable to access the apache page that way the person did, only the keyword localhost works.

Oh i see... so that's why i could run HFS without any problems, it was because i was using my ip as the adress.

IIS is a Microsoft product - Apache is Apache's product. They both do the same basic thing, and are not required to run the other.

Ok then... what is necessary then to make the domain work ? I mean, i tought apache would already setup the domain and associate to my ip, but if just assumes it's already set up, then what i have to do to make that work ? is this on the guide that logic earth indicated ? I don't seem to find that part. After all, this is the main problem i have here when i posted the topic.