Cannot load c:/php/php5apache2_4.dll into server: The specified module could not be found

Question

When trying to use PHP 5.6.30 with Apache 2.4 there seems to be a somewhat well-known issue (outside of using Docker) but there does not seem to be any real solution for fixing the issue. I am getting the following error:

httpd.exe: Syntax error on line 534 of C:/Apache24/conf/httpd.conf: Cannot load c:/php/php5apache2_4.dll into server: The specified module could not be found.

Examining the directory of C:\php (inside the Docker container) I see the DLL is clearly there

03/09/2017  04:34 PM    <DIR>          .
03/09/2017  04:34 PM    <DIR>          ..
01/18/2017  08:12 PM            69,632 deplister.exe
03/09/2017  04:34 PM    <DIR>          dev
03/09/2017  04:34 PM    <DIR>          ext
03/09/2017  04:34 PM    <DIR>          extras
01/18/2017  08:12 PM         1,290,752 glib-2.dll
01/18/2017  08:12 PM            16,384 gmodule-2.dll
01/18/2017  08:12 PM        25,672,192 icudt57.dll
01/18/2017  08:12 PM         2,065,920 icuin57.dll
01/18/2017  08:12 PM            51,200 icuio57.dll
01/18/2017  08:12 PM           257,536 icule57.dll
01/18/2017  08:12 PM            50,176 iculx57.dll
01/18/2017  08:12 PM            63,488 icutest57.dll
01/18/2017  08:12 PM           196,096 icutu57.dll
01/18/2017  08:12 PM         1,456,128 icuuc57.dll
01/18/2017  08:12 PM            79,408 install.txt
03/09/2017  04:34 PM    <DIR>          lib
01/18/2017  08:12 PM         2,244,096 libeay32.dll
01/18/2017  08:12 PM            46,592 libenchant.dll
01/18/2017  08:12 PM           185,344 libpq.dll
01/18/2017  08:12 PM           237,056 libsasl.dll
01/18/2017  08:12 PM           213,504 libssh2.dll
01/18/2017  08:12 PM             3,286 license.txt
01/18/2017  08:12 PM           557,659 news.txt
01/18/2017  08:12 PM                43 phar.phar.bat
01/18/2017  08:12 PM            53,242 pharcommand.phar
01/18/2017  08:12 PM            59,392 php-cgi.exe
01/18/2017  08:12 PM            32,256 php-win.exe
01/18/2017  08:12 PM            79,872 php.exe
01/18/2017  08:12 PM             2,523 php.gif
01/18/2017  08:12 PM            75,684 php.ini-development
01/18/2017  08:12 PM            75,715 php.ini-production
01/18/2017  08:12 PM            32,768 php5apache2_4.dll <--- look right here
01/18/2017  08:12 PM           846,630 php5embed.lib
01/18/2017  08:12 PM           168,960 php5phpdbg.dll
01/18/2017  08:12 PM         8,343,040 php5ts.dll
01/18/2017  08:12 PM           181,760 phpdbg.exe
01/18/2017  08:12 PM            21,360 readme-redist-bins.txt
01/18/2017  08:12 PM             3,634 snapshot.txt
01/18/2017  08:12 PM           353,792 ssleay32.dll
              35 File(s)     45,087,120 bytes

This answer talks about making sure to use the same bit version (I am using 64 bit) and to also make sure the versions are thread safe, which they are. Here, in my Dockerfile, you can see the links to the 64 bit thread-safe versions of Apache and PHP:

FROM microsoft/windowsservercore

RUN powershell -Command \
    $ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'; \
    Invoke-WebRequest -Method Get -Uri https://www.apachelounge.com/download/VC11/binaries/httpd-2.4.25-win64-VC11.zip -OutFile c:\apache.zip ; \
    Expand-Archive -Path c:\apache.zip -DestinationPath c:\ ; \
    Remove-Item c:\apache.zip -Force

RUN powershell -Command \
    $ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'; \
    Invoke-WebRequest -Method Get -Uri "http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/3/F/93FCF1E7-E6A4-478B-96E7-D4B285925B00/vc_redist.x64.exe" -OutFile c:\vcredist_x64.exe ; \
    start-Process c:\vcredist_x64.exe -ArgumentList '/quiet' -Wait ; \
    Remove-Item c:\vcredist_x64.exe -Force

RUN powershell -Command \
    $ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'; \
    Invoke-WebRequest -Method Get -Uri http://windows.php.net/downloads/releases/php-5.6.30-Win32-VC11-x64.zip -OutFile c:\php.zip ; \
    Expand-Archive -Path c:\php.zip -DestinationPath c:\php ; \
    Remove-Item c:\php.zip -Force

RUN powershell -Command \
    $ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'; \
    Remove-Item c:\Apache24\conf\httpd.conf ; \
    new-item -Type Directory c:\www -Force ; \
    Add-Content -Value "'<?php phpinfo() ?>'" -Path c:\www\index.php

ADD httpd.conf /apache24/conf

WORKDIR /Apache24/bin

CMD /Apache24/bin/httpd.exe -w

Note the Visual Studio compiler is for 2015. Do I really need to level the playing field for using the compiler?

Finally, the following lines in the httpd.conf (line 534, mentioned in the error, is the line starting with LoadModule)are what is causing the error to show in the Docker logs for the container when started. I have them commented out at the moment so I could get Apache to start as a stand-alone (allowing me to examine what is going on inside of the container).

# configure the path to php.ini
# PHPIniDir "C:/php"
# LoadModule php5_module "c:/php/php5apache2_4.dll"
# AddHandler application/x-httpd-php .php

I plan to deploy some existing PHP code in the container and do not want to upgrade to PHP7 (which will create more work to fix some things with code which will fail on PHP7). Outside of upgrading to PHP 7 is there any other way to fix the issue?

Solution

You will need to install prior versions of the VC Redistributable since later versions do not cover earlier ones. The version used to compile it should be indicated on the mirror you downloaded it from. The Windows download page on the official PHP site indicates 2014 was used but you may have luck with 2012 as well.

You should also set up your configuration as such:

LoadModule php5_module "c:/php/php5apache2_4.dll"

<IfModule php5_module>
    # configure the path to php.ini
    PHPIniDir "C:/php"
    AddHandler application/x-httpd-php .php
</IfModule>