Upgrading Apache 2.2.x to 2.2.23 and PHP from 5.2 to 5.4 on Windows Server 2003+ (Win32)

I recently decided to upgrade both my Apache and PHP installs so I can take advantage of some of the new features of PHP 5.4. What I assumed would be a simple, well documented update, turned into hours of frustration and research.  In the end, I was successfully able to perform the upgrade and hopefully this quick guide will save others from the same frustrating research.

Before beginning this upgrade, I assume you have the following installed and working: Windows Server 2003 (or later) x86, Apache 2.2.x, PHP 5.2.x

Step  1
Be sure that you have downloaded and installed the Visual C++ 2010 and Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package x86
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=5582
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8328

Step 2
Download VC9 version of Apache 2.2.23 – Apache 2.2.23 Win32 – Same as the Win32 VC10, but build with VC9 x86
[Apache VC9 Binary] httpd-2.2.23-win32-ssl_0.9.8-VC9.zip from http://www.apachelounge.com/download/additional/

Step 3
Extract the Apache zip into a temporary folder and create a backup of your current Apache install.

Step 4
Stop the Apache service and replace the following directories in your Apache path with the ones from the extracted zip file:

Step 5
Start the Apache service and ensure that it works.

Step 6
Download the VC9 x86 Thread Safe version of PHP 5.4 from: http://windows.php.net/download

Step 7
Extract PHP into a different folder than the current version of PHP you are running. I used E:/PHP5.4/

Step 8
Make whatever changes you need to the included php.ini-production file and rename it to php.ini

Step 9
Change your Apache conf file to reflect the new PHP installation.

My settings:

Step 10
Restart the Apache service and you should be good to go.