newbie question about .htaccess

I have a private website folder which I would like to password protect so I
have followed the instructions on the Apache website and some other sites to
write an .htaccess file. This results in a pop up box which asks for the
username and password. The problem is that on entering the details (which
are in the .htpasswd file) the same pop up box appears again and again, only
after selecting cancel does the page come up saying authorisation required,
etc. This seems to be the case whether or not correct details are entered.

My httpd.conf file has in it for that directory :
AllowOverride AuthConfig
The .htaccess file contains:

AuthUserFile {directory}.htpasswd
AuthName "Restricted files"
AuthType Basic
<Limit GET>
require valid-user
</Limit>

Can anyone explain the problem?
Thanks in advance,
James

James Dearnley <jamesd.DeleteThis@grantfinder.co.uk> wrote:
 > Can anyone explain the problem?

Check the error log of Apache, the actual problem is described in there,
it could be that the directory where you placed the password file isn't
readable, or is wrong or the password file haven't been created
correctly.

Davide<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->