I am trying to set up Local on Windows with a view to potentially hosting multiple websites on Flywheel or WP Engine.
In the last week, I have tried to install WordPress 11 times (by clicking ‘Add Local Site’) without success, when using Local from localwp.com. Installing the Local program app on Windows was simple enough, but whenever I tried to add a Local site, within a few minutes the program crashes and hangs. It just shows the never-ending message ‘Downloading WordPress’ (please see picture below) but WordPress does not get installed. It’s just a small detail, but I have noticed the little hard disc light stops flashing right at the same moment when ‘Downloading WordPress’ appears during the site creation process. In other words, there appears to be a failure when Local tries to install WordPress.
I understand it should only take a few minutes to install WordPress using Local but nothing happened during 11 different attempts, even when I left it running for over 10 hours overnight. There were no error messages or system failure warning messages.
I am using a reasonably powerful Windows 10 computer (Windows is fully updated) and I am using the very latest version of Local (Version 9.1.0+6719). To keep things simple, I have only used the ‘Preferred’ default configuration as provided by Local:
PHP 8.2.23
Web server nginx 1.26.1
MySQL Version 8.0.16
I have already read numerous feedback comments here on ‘Local Community’ relating to this problem and as a result, I have tried the following to fix this problem:
AVG has been turned off.
Windows Defender Firewall has been turned off.
Within preferences in Local, I have tried changing the router mode to localhost (i.e. whether I choose ‘site domains’ or ‘localhost’ makes no difference to the problem I have described above).
I have tried un-installing and re-installing the entire app 3 times.
Thank you very much for any solutions you can offer and I am grateful if you can please provide a simple and clear description on the steps required to fix this problem. Thanks again - much appreciated for any help or tips you can provide!
Hi @Nick-B and thank you very much for your quick response. Sorry that some of my text in the post appeared massive and that was unintended.
Regarding your 4 points:
Yes, I am running this application as a Windows Administrator, with full user access rights and privileges.
The machine has plenty of free space, with 278GB free after the Local installation.
Regarding the hosts file, please leave that with me and I intend to reply within a few hours.
I am not running any other developer applications, including the examples you mentioned. In fact, all programs were closed down, allowing Local to run on its own.
Thanks again and I plan to get back to you on that one remaining point later.
I have examined my hosts file and I do not believe anything is stopping it from being edited by Local. My hosts file is not read only. Also, it showed its date modified as yesterday and that had been the last time I tried to add a site in Local. I tried to add another Local site tonight and then the hosts file was modified again tonight.
This windows computer is my own device and it was not issued by an employer.
Regarding my Wifi connection, I am not using a VPN and I do not connect to the internet using a company network. My broadband service is 5G broadband and this means I use a WiFi router hub that has a 5G SIM card inside it. Just to mention it, my WiFi and broadband service is quite fast, stable and reliable.
I hope that feedback is helpful and I look forward to your latest thoughts. Thank you!
It’s tough to say here, as we’ve ruled out all of the usual suspects, but what it boils down to is that something is preventing the connection. So it’s still either something on the machine or the network. The network might be fast but it could be that the something is still be filtered or throttled by the network or ISP.
Would you be able to test on an alternative network somewhere and see if there is any change?
I have some great news and you were absolutely right about the network being the issue.
Today I tried using a different network at a different location and that was successful. This means I was able to add a Local site without any problems and the WordPress installation was successful. There is some additional good news because I have tried adding another Local site with AVG and the firewall turned on and that was successful too.
This is a nice way to round things off before the weekend. Thank you very much for your help and thanks also for pointing me in the right direction.
