Setting up document root

My essential problems are getting the admin console up and running and setting up a document root, but there may be problems with my install – given the symptoms below.

I’ve installed 2.8.3 with PHP 4.3.1 and MySQL 5. I can get the install program to run, but when I was use it one seeming issue is that it is not processing passwords correctly (so a blank had to be used).

After the install, when I login or try to bring up the wp-admin page, I get redirected with a

?step=2

as part of the URL, and my regular web site’s home page is displayed. So I moved the WordPress files to a subdirectory under the PHP files (i.e., /phpscripts/<director>/wordpress/…

and I still get my web page coming up when I try to login or get to the administrative console.

Thanks for any help you can offer!