I admit that it took me a while to get a grasp on how to get started with the pp utility that's part of PAR::Packer too. Don't know if there's a guide out there or not, but I'll list the steps getting started with 32-bit Perl on Windows. There were some caveats and gotcha's along the way with using 64-bit Perl on Windows with the compiler stuff, but can't remember those details. So, I'll just stick with 32-bit Perl for this post.

• ActiveState's ActivePerl
  • Use ActiveState's PPM utility (in GUI mode or line command mode) to install MinGW and dmake.
  • Optional: Use PPM to install Win32::Exe, which is a module used by PAR::Packer. For some reason, I've had a few instances where it seemed easier to install this from PPM rather than CPAN. (If any other modules fail during install from CPAN, try installing them from PPM and retry installing PAR::Packer again.)
  • Open up a command prompt and type the following: cpan install PAR::Packer
    • If the install fails, try opening a command prompt as administrator (right-click and choose run as administrator) and try again.
    • If that doesn't work, try forcing the install by typing the following: cpan install -f PAR::Packer
  • That's it. PAR::Packer should be installed along with the pp utility.
• Strawberry Perl
  • Already has MinGW and dmake installed. Follow steps above to install PAR::Packer from CPAN.

The steps above should get you going. Next, just look at the documentation for the pp utility and you'll be on your way.

NOTE: If you're behind a web proxy, you might need to configure the http_proxy setting for the CPAN module or add the http_proxy environment variable to the OS.