A) Whats your configure line?
B) can you build us a backtrace by adding debug symbols to PHP?

A) configure line:
./configure --with-mysql --with-apxs=/usr/local/apache2

B) can you be more specific what kind of info you want. I'm guessing --enable-debug. I'm trying that but it will take a litte time because my machine isn't a fast one. I didn't install gdb yet.

Ill get back to you after the new compalition

OOPS the apxs bit fell off this is the correct line

./configure --with-mysql --with-apxs=/usr/local/apache2/bin/apxs

Please realize that Apache2 support in PHP is extremely experimental, and is not assured to work.

If you use apache2 it has to be --with-apxs2

you' right about apxs2 (another typo from me). I did use apxs2 on configure line so the correct line I used would be:
./configure --with-mysql --with-apxs2=/usr/local/apache2/bin/apxs

And yes I know its all experimental what I'm doing, but why then you give warnings about static modules and why are the guys from apache telling me that apache2 is the best version to use. 
And I figured you still want to know about failures and successes of the stuff youre cooking.

output 
#dbx httpd
(dbx) run

Segmentation fault in create_php_config at line 196 in file "" ($t1)
could not read "apache_config.c"

now its also crash with httpd -X
only change is added --enable-debug with configure

Please try using this CVS snapshot:

  http://snaps.php.net/php4-latest.tar.gz
 
For Windows:
 
  http://snaps.php.net/win32/php4-win32-latest.zip

hmm, somehow I aspected that answer. I will try it tomorrow. I'm in different timezone. I let you know if it has been fixed. 

tnx

:-( no dice newer gives the same fault. So now what the do? 
any suggestions?

Thank you for this bug report. To properly diagnose the problem, we
need a backtrace to see what is happening behind the scenes. To
find out how to generate a backtrace, please read
http://bugs.php.net/bugs-generating-backtrace.php

Once you have generated a backtrace, please submit it to this bug
report and change the status back to "Open". Thank you for helping
us make PHP better.

output from gdb as you can see 

#gdb httpd
GNU gdb 5.2.1
Copyright 2002 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
GDB is free software, covered by the GNU General Public License, and you are
welcome to change it and/or distribute copies of it under certain conditions.
Type "show copying" to see the conditions.
There is absolutely no warranty for GDB.  Type "show warranty" for details.

This GDB was configured as "powerpc-ibm-aix4.3.3.0"...
(gdb) run
Starting program: /usr/local/apache2/bin/httpd

Program received signal SIGSEGV, Segmentation fault.
0xd1088d6c in apr_palloc () from /usr/local/apache2/modules/libphp4.so

so far nothing has been changed if you look to the first comment.

so more suggestions

and the next bit 
(gdb) bt
#0  0xd1088d6c in apr_palloc () from /usr/local/apache2/modules/libphp4.so
#1  0xd1088cb0 in create_php_config () from /usr/local/apache2/modules/libphp4.so
#2  0x1000df34 in ap_single_module_configure (p=0x2002f000, s=0x2002ed80, m=0x200285c0) at config.c:1822
#3  0x10054c20 in load_module (cmd=0x2ff22988, dummy=0x200b183c, modname=0x2006bd40 "php4_module", filename=0x2002f000 " \006?@ \v\030<")
    at mod_so.c:335
#4  0x1000b7e4 in invoke_cmd (cmd=0x200028a0, parms=0x2ff22988, mconfig=0x2ff208d8, args=0x2ff20968 "") at config.c:736
#5  0x1000ce44 in execute_now (cmd_line=0x2006bce8 "LoadModule", args=0x2ff20943 "php4_module        modules/libphp4.so", parms=0x2ff22988,
    p=0xf020ce1c, ptemp=0x2006c098, sub_tree=0x2ff208d8, parent=0x200b8214) at config.c:1342
#6  0x1000c300 in ap_build_config_sub (p=0x200285c0, temp_pool=0x200661e0, l=0x200b183c "\0011}\224", parms=0x2ff22988, current=0x2ff22938,
    curr_parent=0x2ff2293c, conftree=0x20000fa4) at config.c:939
#7  0x1000c818 in ap_build_config (parms=0x2ff22988, p=0x200285c0, temp_pool=0x200661e0, conftree=0x20000fa4) at config.c:1146
#8  0x1000d3cc in ap_process_resource_config (s=0x2002ed80, fname=0x20069600 "/usr/local/apache2/conf/httpd.conf", conftree=0x20000fa4,
    p=0x200285c0, ptemp=0x200661e0) at config.c:1527
#9  0x1000de24 in ap_read_config (process=0x200b8214, ptemp=0x200661e0, filename=0x100686bc "conf/httpd.conf", conftree=0x20000fa4)
    at config.c:1805
#10 0x10001024 in main (argc=1, argv=0x2ff22c50) at main.c:557
#11 0x100001dc in __start ()

and the last bit

(gdb) frame 4
#4  0x1000b7e4 in invoke_cmd (cmd=0x200028a0, parms=0x2ff22988, mconfig=0x2ff208d8, args=0x2ff20968 "") at config.c:736
736     config.c: No such file or directory.
        in config.c

You really should be using php4.3-dev (latest unstable snapshot) if you are going to be playing with Apache 2.0

Also, which mpm are you using for Apache2?

I hope this tell's you enough

# more php_version.h
/* automatically generated by configure */
/* edit configure.in to change version number */
#define PHP_MAJOR_VERSION 4
#define PHP_MINOR_VERSION 3
#define PHP_RELEASE_VERSION 0
#define PHP_EXTRA_VERSION "-dev"
#define PHP_VERSION "4.3.0-dev"

php4-200208211200

apache info:

./httpd -l
Compiled in modules:
  core.c
  mod_access.c
  mod_auth.c
  mod_include.c
  mod_log_config.c
  mod_env.c
  mod_setenvif.c
  prefork.c
  http_core.c
  mod_mime.c
  mod_status.c
  mod_autoindex.c
  mod_asis.c
  mod_cgi.c
  mod_negotiation.c
  mod_dir.c
  mod_imap.c
  mod_actions.c
  mod_userdir.c
  mod_alias.c
  mod_so.c
# ./httpd -v
Server version: Apache/2.0.40
Server built:   Aug 16 2002 16:40:35
# ./httpd -V
Server version: Apache/2.0.40
Server built:   Aug 16 2002 16:40:35
Server's Module Magic Number: 20020628:0
Architecture:   32-bit
Server compiled with....
 -D APACHE_MPM_DIR="server/mpm/prefork"
 -D APR_HAS_SENDFILE
 -D APR_HAS_MMAP
 -D APR_HAVE_IPV6
 -D APR_USE_PROC_PTHREAD_SERIALIZE
 -D APR_USE_PTHREAD_SERIALIZE
 -D SINGLE_LISTEN_UNSERIALIZED_ACCEPT
 -D APR_HAS_OTHER_CHILD
 -D AP_HAVE_RELIABLE_PIPED_LOGS
 -D HTTPD_ROOT="/usr/local/apache2"
 -D SUEXEC_BIN="/usr/local/apache2/bin/suexec"
 -D DEFAULT_PIDLOG="logs/httpd.pid"
 -D DEFAULT_SCOREBOARD="logs/apache_runtime_status"
 -D DEFAULT_LOCKFILE="logs/accept.lock"
 -D DEFAULT_ERRORLOG="logs/error_log"
 -D AP_TYPES_CONFIG_FILE="conf/mime.types"
 -D SERVER_CONFIG_FILE="conf/httpd.conf"

apcache configure line 
./configure --enable-so --enable-cgi
so I guess the mpm would be prefork

I am having this same issue with solaris 2.7 and php version 4.2.3.  It seems if I remove the line that calls the apache module . . . Apache starts up fine.

Please try using this CVS snapshot:

  http://snaps.php.net/php4-latest.tar.gz
 
For Windows:
 
  http://snaps.php.net/win32/php4-win32-latest.zip

No feedback was provided for this bug for over 2 weeks, so it is
being suspended automatically. If you are able to provide the
information that was originally requested, please do so and change
the status of the bug back to "Open".