Later, I converted the installation to multisite and found I couldn't log in anymore. It was the strangest thing. I finally figured out the problem, but before I share that with you, let me give you some details.

• I'm using the latest WordPress downloaded from wordpress.org, the latest XAMPP build, on a Windows 7 machine.
• I created a hosts file that points the host xampp to 127.0.0.1.
• I created a database called 'wordpress' in MySQL, and then ran the WordPress install process, giving it my database, the login, the domain, etc. It gets all the way through to the Installation finished page, and seems to be fine.
• I converted the install to multisite.
• Then, when I clicked the Login button, entered the login and password, and then hit the login button, WordPress just redirected me back to the login page and absolutely refused to let me log in.
• I knew the database had been created and so had the user, since I checked it with HeidiSQL.
• I knew I was using the right password because I cut and pasted it in right from the screen.
• Also tried this multiple times, each time deleting the full database and the full wordpress folder, with exactly the same results.

So, what do you think went wrong? Ah, as it turns out, the answer is: the local host needs a top-level domain. When I put xampp.dev in the hosts file rather than just xampp, it all worked.

For the record, yes, I know this isn't a WordPress site. We're working on migrating over, which is a very BIG job. That's why I'm doing so much plug-in coding.

David Gewirtz is the author of How To Save Jobs and Where Have All The Emails Gone? For more than 20 years, he has analyzed current, historical, and emerging issues relating to technology, competitiveness, and policy. David is the Editor-in-Chief of the ZATZ magazines, is the Cyberterrorism Advisor for the International Association for Counterterrorism and Security Professionals, and is a member of the instructional faculty at the University of California, Berkeley extension. He can be reached at david@zatz.com and you can follow him at http://www.twitter.com/DavidGewirtz.