Heh heh ... Chansaw
I was speaking 2.2.15. I think it's the UAC in 2k8. I think it's why I had problem getting php 5.3.2 vc9 to run with 2.2.15 vc9 on Vista. So, I have to assume Win7 is going to act the same.
However, there is something in 5.3.2 since running with 5.2.13 on Vista works like I were on the XP box.
I brought up 2.3.6 cause it produced the exact problem at command line, even when command line was run as admin in 2.3.6. Only it did not want to run if any php version, any vc used, if php has been configured for mod_fcgid. I'm going to assume at this point if I install the service for 2.3.6 on 2k8 that problem will go away.
This however leads to a security issue. If I cannot run it when service running under a limited user, only as System, then there is a problem. I do not like running Apache not jailed.
Anyway, since I think I know what is going on, I am going to change the instructions in a couple readme files to note this behavior. First however, I am booting up 2k8 now to test my theories.