major help required with php3 and apache on suse 7.0 pro

Hi, I have a webserver with over 100 domains running. I have installed suse 7.0 with the apache that came with suse. php3 and 4 are installed but are not running. I cannot restart apache because of an error, and I dont seem to find it. I want to download the new .14 apache and compile it, but I have NEVER done that before. My system admin had a major car crash, and is out for the next 3 months. Now I want to try this. I must be careful though, because of the running domains etc... How can I do this ? Can anyone help me ? Regards, Bob