MySQL Connection problem

Hi, I have Apache 2, PHP 5 and MySQL 4.1 installed on an XP pro box. I have created a new database 'ijdb' with a single table 'joke' and have entered data into two of the three fields in the table. I can access the database / tables / data from a command prompt. However, when I try to connect through WAMP I either receive a 'Unable to connect to the database server at this time.' error message - which is my default error message, or, I receive a blank window in IE / Mozilla / Opera etc and no error messages. I have tried removing the @ from the file and this has no effect - interesting?! The error logs do not reveal anything that indicates a missing table / field. I wonder if anyone has any ideas ? Cheers, Mike