I think this might be the reason it's not working, but I don't know how to fix it.

these are my warnings

Check that the php.ini setting allow_call_time_pass_reference is on allow_call_time_pass_reference is set to '' in php.ini. You can install with allow_call_time_pass_reference not set, but some warnings may get displayed. For best results, turn it on.

Server software
I can't tell what webserver you are running.
Without Apache I can't tell if mod_rewrite is enabled.

mod_rewrite enabled
I can't tell whether mod_rewrite is running.
You may need to configure a rewriting rule yourself.

I guess I'm not running Apache...

It appear that I am running Apache with mod rewrite on.

and I ended up getting it to work

here's the weird part after all the trouble I've gone through of reinstalling it and playing with htaccess etc, I found that checking the "remember me" made it work somehow.

but it still acts a bit flaky.
I have to often reload the site to see any content.
Any idea why this is happening ?