Apache crashing after Xampp/Wordpess install

Slowly, methodically followed the Xampp/Wordpress install as provided on here. I must have done something wrong as after I edited the wp-config.php file as directed to do so, Apache stopped working and will not start again. Thankfully I managed to get the debug set to true and received the following error messages.

Warning: mysqli_real_connect(): (HY000/1045): Access denied for user ‘root’@’localhost’ (using password: YES) in C:\xampp\apps\wordpress\htdocs\wp-includes\wp-db.php on line 1386

Deprecated: mysql_connect(): The mysql extension is deprecated and will be removed in the future: use mysqli or PDO instead in C:\xampp\apps\wordpress\htdocs\wp-includes\wp-db.php on line 1416

Warning: mysql_connect(): Access denied for user ‘root’@’localhost’ (using password: YES) in C:\xampp\apps\wordpress\htdocs\wp-includes\wp-db.php on line 1416

Error establishing a database connection

This either means that the username and password information in your wp-config.php file is incorrect or we can’t contact the database server at localhost:3306. This could mean your host’s database server is down.
?Are you sure you have the correct username and password?
?Are you sure that you have typed the correct hostname?
?Are you sure that the database server is running?

If you’re unsure what these terms mean you should probably contact your host. If you still need help you can always visit the WordPress Support Forums.

I went over wp-config several times. I checked my notes as I wrote passwords and such down as I went. db_name is root_wordpress-trunk as suggest by the how-to. db_user is “root” as it should be. db_password is correct, and Apache had been using port 3306, so localhost:3306 should work. So what in the heck did I do wrong then?