A 404 error means that your CGI script wasn't found, which doesn't necessarily mean that Apache isn't configured to run CGI scripts.

You need to tell Apache two things:

• that certain files (identified by file extension) are CGI scripts and should be executed.
• where such scripts live.

A very easy way to do this is to use the ScriptAlias directive. It maps a URL path (like "/cgi-bin/foo.cgi") to a filesystem path (like "/home/httpd/cgi-bin/foo.cgi"). It also tells Apache that all files in that directory are CGI scripts and should be executed.

So, to configure your Apache for the above path configs, add this line to your httpd.conf:

ScriptAlias /cgi-bin/ /home/httpd/cgi-bin/
[download]

You may need to adjust the paths, but that should get you started.

It's in the Apache Docs.

If you don't have access to httpd.conf, you can use .htaccess files, but you can't use ScriptAlias. In that case you can use the AddType directive, which associates file extensions with mime types. More in the appropriate docs.