Tag Archives: Iis

Workaround: Adding a script map in IIS 5.1

I was contacted by a customer who commented that he could not add a Script Map to IIS 5.1.  After selecting his executable for the script map and adding his extension, the “OK” button was still disabled — preventing him from committing the script map change.

To work around this issue, once you have selected the executable and set the extension, click inside the “Executable” text box to expand the full path to the executable.  Doing so will enable the OK button and you will be able to commit your script map change.

ASP.NET 1.1, IIS 6.0 and 64-bit Windows

A few days ago, one of the many distribution lists I belong to was presented with the following requests:

I’m trying to create a Web Service in Visual Studio .NET 2003 and am getting an error “Visual Studio .NET has detected that the specified Web server is not running ASP .NET version 1.1. You will be unable to run ASP .NET Web applications or services.”

The individual said that he had checked the script maps and everything seemed to be in order on the server.  They had installed and uninstalled the ASP.NET extensions several times using aspnet_regiis.exe.  After a few more communications the poster added:

(Potential complication: my machine is a 64-bit OS; does this change the equation?)

The answer is that running 64-bit Windows does have an affect on your ability to run ASP.NET 1.1 in IIS 6.  ASP.NET 1.1 only supports running in 32-bit mode.  Fortunately, IIS 6 on 64-bit Windows can run in either 64-bit mode or 32-bit mode.

The following steps to run IIS 6 in 32-bit mode can be found in our MSDN documentation:

  1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
  2. Type the following command to enable the 32-bit mode:

    cscript %SYSTEMDRIVE%inetpubadminscriptsadsutil.vbs SET W3SVC/AppPools/Enable32bitAppOnWin64 1

  3. Type the following command to install the version of ASP.NET 1.1 and to install the script maps at the IIS root and under:

    %SYSTEMROOT%Microsoft.NETFrameworkv1.1.4322aspnet_regiis.exe -i

  4. Make sure that the status of ASP.NET version 1.1.4322 is set to Allowed in the Web service extension list in Internet Information Services Manager.

After following these instructions, the issue still wasn’t resolved.  In fact, the script maps for the web application were not being properly updated.  I had the customer execute the “aspnet_regiis -ua” which would remove all versions of ASP.NET from the machine.  To reinstall the ASP.NET 1.1 again, you then need to reissue the “aspnet_regiis -i” command (use “aspnet_regiis -i -enable” if you are using Windows 2003).  This should allow you to run ASP.NET 1.1 on IIS 6.

Keep in mind, however, that IIS 6.0 cannot run in both 64-bit mode and 32-bit mode at the same time. By running IIS 6.0 in 32-bit mode on 64-bit Windows, ASP.NET 2.0 applications will also run in 32-bit mode.

IIS 7 on a MacBook !

The IIS 7 Commander-in-chief, Bill Staples , has just released a screenshot of his new 17″ MacBook running IIS 7!  I simply must get one now!

Beta 2 Live – IIS.NET now open!

Now that Beta 2 has been announced and IIS 7 is now publicly available to beta testers on both the Vista and Longhorn platforms, our new portal, IIS.NET is now open and live!  Many long hours were spent on this by some great guys here at Microsoft.  Be sure to stop by and tell them what you think of the site!

IIS 7.0 UE team is hiring!

We’re hiring!  Take a look at the details below

“Do you love Internet and Web server technologies? Join the IIS UE team and work on the coolest version of Internet Information Services (IIS) ever. IIS 7.0 joins forces with ASP.NET to deliver a Web application development platform that’s getting rave reviews from customers.

We’re looking for a programmer writer to define and deliver essential developer-focused, solution-based documentation for a programming audience. Your responsibilities will include writing API reference topics, conceptual topics about IIS, and code examples that demonstrate product features. You’ll be responsible for multiple feature areas, so good organizational skills and the ability to prioritize your workload are a must.”


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What’s wrong with MSDN documentation?

A large part of my job at Microsoft is to provide developers with the knowledge they need to make use of the IIS 7.0 SDK.  While the information about IIS 7.0 is not out yet for review, there are plenty of docs provided in other areas, such as the .NET Framework SDK and ASP.NET sections, which can be used as a benchmark.   In order to make the IIS 7.0 SDK a success, we must do more than just put out a good product. We must also describe how to use it properly or it just will not be used.  So I pose a question to anyone who has ever looked something up in MSDN, what is wrong with the documentation you have used so far?  What is good about it?  What would you like to see to a greater/lesser extent in our documentation?   Feel free to flame us, or praise us.  If you have suggestions, comments, or ideas, feel free to express them here.

Your feedback will help me understand how to increase your satisfaction with MSDN and Microsoft in general.

Or better yet, if you have some desire to play with new technology that isn’t documented yet and provide that content to a worldwide audience, why not apply

IIS may be Microsoft’s most important product

I’ve been asked a couple of times why I accepted a position working with IIS 7. Someone even quipped that I took it because it was the only job that Microsoft offered me. Quite honestly, if I had my druthers, I would still love to join this team. Obviously, some people can’t understand the importance of this product. This post will serve as the formal answer to the inquiries about my upcoming role.


I believe in my heart that IIS could possibly be the most important product in Microsoft’s arsenal today. If you blindly accept this hypothesis, you need not read any further. However, if the need to provide some supporting evidence to my assertion haunts your dreams, go ahead and finish reading this post before you lay your head on the pillow tonight.


In the book, Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, the authors overtly opine that information is one of the most powerful tools in today’s age. One example given by the duo is that of the ruin of the Ku Klux Klan after WWII. Once the war was over, the “Klan” had started to regain their footing. Stetson Kennedy infiltrated the group and exposed all of their secrets to a popular radio program at the time — Superman. This turned the upsurge in Klan membership on its ugly hooded ear. The book demonstrates time and time again that sunlight is, indeed, the greatest disinfectant.


The proliferation of data in the “information age” is one of my favorite bi-products, or perhaps, the purpose of my very career field. Software applications seek to provide information in a concise form that makes sense to data consumers. Websites such as realtor.com and edmunds.com provide data that prevents the lay-folk from being ripped off in the same or purchase of a home or car, respectively. Sites such as encarta.com and wikipedia.com provide us with reasonable and free research — and in the case of the later, people actually volunteer their time to build on that knowledge. I have to admit that I am addicted to information. In an instant, I can be searching for stock quotes, searching for health information, getting the latest news headlines, or just reading blogs at any given moment. I can access information on my smart phone, my tablet pc, my notebooks or any number of desktop machines at home. There are even refridgerators with web browsers in them now!


Yes, information is important. But getting information out there in an efficient, reliable, and secure way is the key. I have watched IIS grow from a simple application-level server that leaked memory like crazy and provided a million security vulnerabilities while provided basic database/index server query capabilities (HTX/IDC and IDA/IDQ), to a mixture of kernel-mode listeners and intricate inter-process operations that serve up millions of pages of dynamic information and object requests in a secure environment as though it was bored to tears. The information this product serves up, for the most part, is pure gold and it already does it so well. IIS is, indeed, improving with each and every release.


Some may say the success of IIS is why they question my joining the team. “What else could you possibly do with that product”. While I’m not going to be a developer for IIS 7, I do cherish the opportunity to leave my ideas at the desk of those that can at least consider just what I think can be improved. Depending on what survey you read, Microsoft’s market share of the web server space has plenty of room for improvement. In fact, since the .COM bust, it appears that IIS 7 has been losing its market share. But obviously, market share isn’t everything: “What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world but lose his soul?” So what else is there? How about increased security and anti-fraud mechanisms? Dissemination of information is only as good as the information being purveyed. Sure IE 7 is going to take up some of the slack here. But couldn’t IIS 7 also provide some of this capability as well? Couldn’t it help protect against spoof sites? Perhaps a combination of IE 7 and IIS 7 would help scuttle the whole phishing business all together.


As I stated in my previous post, I have a million ideas, and at times, I’m overwhelmed with what to do with them. I’m hoping to pour some of this emotion into a product, and I cannot see a better product to be a part of — in whatever capacity I can be of use.


I hope this satisfies some of your curiosity. Thanks for listening.

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