No one seems to know :( PHP..Windows..Links

Okay let's give everyone a run-down on my problem. I started off installing IIS because I wanted to run a webserver with my own bulletin board. I then got perl installed nice and easily, and the same goes with php...though it did take a bit longer. However, when I ran the vbulletin installation file, it says everything is fine, click here to go to step 2. The links is install.php?step=2 Well, the link doesn't work it just reloads the install.php first page...So I'm told by my friend it's an IIS problem because IIS sucks--so I move to apache. Apache takes me about 10x longer to get setup but I DO! So I go run the file .. and.. SAME PROBLEM ARGH!!! What do I do? I reinstall php about 5 times to know avail. I then decide, oh well, it must just be a vbulletin problem, maybe it can't run on my machine (btw Windows XP Pro)...So I go out and I get about 3 other bulletin boards programs) Guess what..1 of them worked but it really wasn't any good..the other two had links JUST like vbulletin did...with like a question mark in the url, and when you click the link it doesn't load it like it's supposed to. file.ext?whatever=whatever .. it just doesn't work. I asked many of my good friends who are really smart, as am I, with computers and they don't know the answer. I have in fact narrowed it down to the point where it has to be a php problem, and I think you would agree, correct? Is there some key in php.ini or something that is keeping this from working? PHP works fine, it's just these embedded links as I think they are called, Links within the same file... :(