Issue with GD extension in XAMPP when installing phpoffice/phpspreadsheet

Question

I'm encountering an issue with the GD extension in my XAMPP environment while trying to install the `phpoffice/phpspreadsheet` package. The error message indicates that the `ext-gd` extension is missing, although I have confirmed that GD is enabled in my PHP configuration (in `php.ini`). This is affecting my ability to use `phpoffice/phpspreadsheet` for Excel-related tasks in my Laravel 8 project.

I've double-checked my `php.ini` file to ensure that the `extension=gd`, `extension=zip` , `extension=fileinfo` line is uncommented, but the issue persists. It's worth noting that I've successfully worked on multiple PHP and Laravel projects in the same XAMPP environment previously, and I'm puzzled by this particular problem.

I'd appreciate any guidance or insights into why this issue might be occurring and how I can resolve it to use `phpoffice/phpspreadsheet` effectively.

; Notes for Windows environments :
;
; - Many DLL files are located in the ext/
;   extension folders as well as the separate PECL DLL download.
;   Be sure to appropriately set the extension_dir directive.
;
;extension=bz2

; The ldap extension must be before curl if OpenSSL 1.0.2 and OpenLDAP is used
; otherwise it results in segfault when unloading after using SASL.
; See https://github.com/php/php-src/issues/8620 for more info.
;extension=ldap

;extension=curl
;extension=ffi
;extension=ftp
extension=fileinfo
extension=gd
;extension=gettext
;extension=gmp
extension=intl
;extension=imap
;extension=mbstring
;extension=exif      ; Must be after mbstring as it depends on it
;extension=mysqli
;extension=oci8_12c  ; Use with Oracle Database 12c Instant Client
;extension=oci8_19  ; Use with Oracle Database 19 Instant Client
;extension=odbc
;extension=openssl
;extension=pdo_firebird
;extension=pdo_mysql
;extension=pdo_oci
;extension=pdo_odbc
;extension=pdo_pgsql
;extension=pdo_sqlite
;extension=pgsql
;extension=shmop

; The MIBS data available in the PHP distribution must be installed.
; See https://www.php.net/manual/en/snmp.installation.php
;extension=snmp

;extension=soap
;extension=sockets
;extension=sodium
;extension=sqlite3
;extension=tidy
;extension=xsl
extension=zip

;zend_extension=opcache

I have attempted the following steps to resolve the issue:

1. Checked my XAMPP environment to ensure that PHP GD extension is enabled in `php.ini`.

2. Restarted XAMPP and my computer to make sure any changes in the configuration were applied.

3. Attempted to install the `phpoffice/phpspreadsheet` package using Composer via the command `composer require phpoffice/phpspreadsheet`.

What I expected to happen:

I expected the installation of the `phpoffice/phpspreadsheet` package to proceed without any issues since the GD extension should be enabled.

What actually resulted:

I encountered an error during the installation process that stated the `ext-gd` extension is missing, even though GD is enabled in my PHP configuration. This error prevented me from successfully installing the package.

If you need more specific details or error messages, please let me know.