How to fix MySQL error in XAMPP server. Fix Error: MySQL shutdown unexpectedly. This may be due to a blocked port, missing dependencies,

🛠️ How to Safely Reset Your MySQL Data in XAMPP for a Fresh Start

If you’re working locally with XAMPP and need to reset your MySQL environment while keeping backups, follow this step-by-step guide:

✅ Step 1: Go to Your MySQL Data Directory

1. Navigate to your XAMPP installation folder (usually C:\xampp).

2. Open the mysql folder.

3. Inside mysql, locate the data folder.

---

🗂️ Step 2: Backup Existing Data

1. Make a copy of the data folder.

2. Rename the copy to something like data_old for backup purposes.

---

❌ Step 3: Delete Specific Folders and Files

⚠️ Be very careful—this step removes your website databases!

1. Open the original data folder.

2. Delete the following folders:

   • mysql

   • performance_schema

   • phpmyadmin

   • test

3. Now, delete all files in the data folder except:

   • ibdata1 → Do not delete this file.

---

📂 Step 4: Restore from Backup

1. Go back to the main mysql folder.

2. Open the backup folder.

3. Select all contents except ibdata1.

4. Copy and paste them back into the mysql\data folder.

---

🎉 All Done!

You’ve now reset your MySQL environment safely. Open XAMPP and start MySQL—your new setup is ready to go.