cannot login WP 201 (admin) running on XAMPP 2.1

I can view the local WP site http://localhost/wordpress/index.php and traverse the site. I can use phpMyAdmin and view the db – XAMPP & MySQL seems to be running ok and WP ver 2.0.1 installed as directed on the support doc. I am using a new d/l of full version of XAMPP and the latest version of WP 2.0.1 — ( this is the same zip that loaded WP201 on my hosted server and is running without problems) – my system is XP home and I have ZoneAlarm running and given XAMPP full permissions. – running very well:

Here is what I’ve tried so far:
1. deleted everything from wp-content/cache
2. edited db table wordpress – user – password – admin(new hash) also tried reloading the WP files and install several times using the password given.
3. checked option field in the db – no trailing / or ending on URL

I cannot get past the login screen – no error unless I insert a bad password – just returns to the login screen with “admin” highlighted.

Thanks in advance for any help –