So when/why would Chrome fail on localhost but load OK from 127.0.0.1?
PHP MySQL IIS Windows 10 was running just fine. phpMyAdmin suggested updating. So, renamed working directories to -old. Attempted to update phpMyAdmin and it needed to update PHP as well. Had issues (deprecated functions) so returned to using the original directories. Screwed something up I can't identify.
Yikes! Chrome will no longer load localhost/phpmyadmin/index.php Error 500: The localhost page isn’t working. localhost is currently unable to handle this request.
NOPE! NOT a server error, because:
Firefox 50.1.0 DOES load phpMyAdmin index page correctly and run queries
Chrome 55.0.2883.87 m DOES load http://127.0.0.1/phpmyadmin/index.php correctly and run queries
Chrome also runs my own php application scripts that use MySQL just fine.
I given the directory phpMyAdmin directory every permission from any user including IIS_IUSRS. But since access Chrome from 127.0.0.1 works fine and Firefox works from localhost, I don't expect it to be a file permissions issue.
Following advice I found elsewhere, I've been to chrome://flag and reset to defaults.
I have cleared Chrome cache from 4 weeks before, up to now.
I hesitate to clear cookies in case of some I may need to keep to be recognized on other certain sites, etc. Not sure how to view and delete only phpMyAdmin related ones, if applicable.
I "think" I left config.inc.ini unchanged from when it was working. phpMyAdmin is all in wwwroot of inetpub.
Stop and Start MySQL service. Browser ctrl-shift-R reload. Fruitless. I suppose I can bookmark 127.0.0.1 instead, but I'd rather learn what's going on.
So what changed to cause my Chrome to now treat localhost (fails to load) differently from 127.0.0.1 (loads just fine)?