Honestly, I've never heard anyone say that xampp or CodeIgniter ruined anything.
xampp is the kind of software that you install, configure and... forget it!
Theoretically, everything you do in Laragon you also do in xampp because the essential programs are the same: Apache, PHP, MySql. It's a subjective question.
I apologize, but I disagree with the "inconclusive 404". 404 has only one conclusion: the pointed direction is not correct, nothing more.
By the way, in general, software is developed to do what its developer programmed. If he thought wrong the result is directly proportional, sometimes in larger proportions.
In pure metaphor, software is a mirror that reflects our actions.
I'm not saying that's your problem, but since the release of CI4 it has been made clear that there is an early stage of knowledge of the new version - that it was developed from scratch. It has a slightly steeper learning curve, for example, than the previous version.
Give it a chance, you won't regret it.
