How can I run mysql in XAMPP server when I already have MySQL server installed in the same pc?

Good question — this is a common problem when running XAMPP on a PC where MySQL (community server or Workbench install) is already installed.

👉 Both XAMPP’s MySQL (called MariaDB usually) and your standalone MySQL server will try to use port 3306, which leads to a port conflict.

📌 Two Solutions

1️⃣ Change XAMPP MySQL (MariaDB) Port

👉 Easiest way if you want to run both servers at the same time.

Steps:

1. Open XAMPP Control Panel.
2. Click Config button next to MySQL > open my.ini.
3. Find:
   [mysqld] port=3306
4. Change to another port, e.g. 3307:
   port=3307
5. Save and close my.ini.
6. Start MySQL from XAMPP.

👉 Now XAMPP MySQL runs on port 3307, standalone MySQL still on 3306.

Access XAMPP MySQL:

• PHP code:
  mysqli_connect(‘localhost’, ‘root’, ”, ‘dbname’, 3307);
• phpMyAdmin:
  Edit xampp/phpMyAdmin/config.inc.php
  $cfg[‘Servers’][$i][‘port’] = ‘3307’;

2️⃣ Stop Standalone MySQL When Using XAMPP

If you do not need both servers running together:

1. Go to Windows Services (press Win+R → type services.msc).
2. Find MySQL service (maybe called MySQL80 or similar).
3. Right click → Stop.
4. Start MySQL from XAMPP (default port 3306 now free).

👉 Drawback: you need to stop/start services each time.

⚠️ Important Notes:

• XAMPP ships with MariaDB, fully compatible with MySQL.
• If you only want one MySQL instance, you can choose to disable or uninstall the other.
• Running both is perfectly fine, just use different ports.