installing wordpress

I want to install wordpress on my pc so I can play with my sites before I upload them to my host.
I have
loaded xampp including at the other items that come with it.
I have set up a data base in Myphp
I have downlaoded wordpress.
I have changed the config.php “wordpress_test” “root” with no password “”
I can not open word press when I do as instructed https://localhost/wordpress/wp-admin/install
it comes up with a message that it cant be found.
When I look at where everything is located I see the following route
C://xampp/htdocs/wordpress/wp-admin/install.php
and I get the following message
Object not found!
The requested URL was not found on this server. If you entered the URL manually please check your spelling and try again.
If you think this is a server error, please contact the webmaster.
Error 404
localhost
28/06/2011 10:04:50 PM
Apache/2.2.17 (Win32) mod_ssl/2.2.17 OpenSSL/0.9.8o PHP/5.3.4 mod_perl/2.0.4 Perl/v5.10.1

because the directions said that wordpress must be install in xampp/htdocs….. I have tried that route too but get the same message.

I am doing something wrong……..Can some expert help me please.