exec or system in windowz to stop mysql or apache from remote (and restart them)

Hello, did any of you experiment EXEC or PASSTHRU or SYSTEM in windows? I tried: <? $cmd = "c:\apache\htdocs\ec.bat"; system($cmd, $out); echo $out; exit; ?> Where ec.bat is simply: echo "done" exit (dos batch commands) If I execute the exec.php file, a dos win pops up, executes the echo command, exits, but in the browser nothing happens. And php hangs to wait for something, like it is described in the manual. I read I have to pass output to a file or something but don't know how. I saw samples for linux, but I work with dos/win and those examples don't work for me (Or I'm not able to get them working) Do you have any advice for me? Or working sample? For the fact that the dos win pops up I can modify ALLOW APPLICATION TO INTERACT WITH DESKTOP directive, but for the rest I don't know. // I'd like to be able to stop-restart Mysqld from remote and even try to stop/restart apache from remote.. with a batch file. Thnaks