Database connection failed

DriverHire could not connect to MySQL.

Access denied (1045): the MySQL username or password is wrong, or that user is not allowed to connect from this host.

1. Open the XAMPP Control Panel and start Apache and MySQL.
2. Open http://localhost/phpmyadmin and import config/database.sql.
3. Verify credentials in config/config.php (or create config/env.php if your MySQL user is not root).

Current settings: host 127.0.0.1, user root, database driverhire_db, password (empty).

Technical detail: SQLSTATE[HY000] [1045] Access denied for user 'root'@'127.0.0.1' (using password: NO)