It would appear the problem was the name of the folder \"php\". Just my bad luck to pick the wrong one. I was running php as a CGI binary according to my htttpd.conf file I think.
I set the folder name to \"a\" and my script worked, then set it to a whole lot of different names and they all worked, except \"php\".
I think I\'m set for now. I\'m more interested in learning php than getting into the details of running a server. Hopefully I\'ll have no more problems. When I get to the point of setting my site up on a server I\'ll either just pay for it to be stored externally, or set up a linux box (it doesn\'t sound wise to use a windows based server).
Thx for your help, and my apologies for my slow replies, I\'ve had the flu.