authenticating only works without password!

["Julian Darley (mail.com)" <jdarley@mail.com>]

can anyone shed light on this:

using php, i can authenticate as DSN to my openldap server (2.0.7), with 
seeming full write permissions, only if i do NOT use the password! but 
using the java ldap browser (2.8.1) i must use the password (as one would 
expect). how can this be?

additionally i do have the problem that slapd must be started twice to get 
any response from it. also curious.

thanks,
julian