Joomla hangs on Step 1 of Installation procedure

$source = preg_replace('/&#(\d+);/me', "utf8_encode(chr(\\1))", $source); // decimal notation
$source = preg_replace('/&#x([a-f0-9]+);/mei', "utf8_encode(chr(0x\\1))", $source); // hex notation

$source = preg_replace_callback('/&#x(\d+);/mi', function($m){return utf8_encode(chr('0x'.$m[1]));}, $source); // decimal notation
$source = preg_replace_callback('/&#x([a-f0-9]+);/mi', function($m){return utf8_encode(chr('0x'.$m[1]));}, $source); // hex notation