Are you using the Apache that came with the Suse Linux CDs (or DVD) or one
from the apache.org site?
Different versions of Apache2 have different httpd.conf files. (Line 187 on
mine is just a comment.)
As for starting it, have you tried switching to root in a terminal window,
changing to the apache2/bin (httpd2/bin in your case?) directory, and
using: "./apachectl start"?