Xampp
 

I have installed XAMPP on a home desktop so that I can play with mods and styles before actually making changes to my live forum. After I download Vbulletin, where do I install it in relationship to XAMPP and how do I actually load the forum pages, admincp etc? I'm sorry for my ignorance here! Am I able to create a new forum from scratch or will I need to import my live forum into the Vbulletin program? All I really need is to be able to see what effects the style changes, mods. skins etc. has on the appearance before I make those changes on the live forum.

Thanks

Yes you can create a new forum from scratch you dont have to import anything. Just do a new install like you wud on a normal site..
Most of designers or coders have test forums installd in localhost

You should have a folder like

C:/XAMPP or similar, inside that folder should be a htdocs folder

Create a new folder inside htdocs and call it vb

Then you need to import your database using phpMyAdmin (go to http://localhost and click the PhpMyadmin link on the left)

Then edit your htdocs/vb/includes/config.php file to reflect the new database.

To access your vb go to http://localhost/vb from your browser

You don't have to import your database, you can start from scratch if you want.