Restore ASP.NET tab to web site Properties in IIS

This article will assist you in restorinig the ASP.NET tab to the web site properties dialog box in IIS for Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition.

A common issue with Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition is that occasionally, the ASP.NET tab in Internet Information Services will not be present. The following steps can be used to restore it. To accomplish this requires editing of a system file, ‘metabase.xml.’

NOTE: EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTION WHEN EDITING SYSTEM FILES. BEFORE MAKING ANY CHANGES, COPY THE FILE IN ITS ORIGINAL STATE TO A SEPARATE LOCATION FOR BACKUP PURPOSES. IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE WITH THIS PROCESS, PLEASE CONTACT OUR TECHNICAL SUPPORT DEPARTMENT. ALSO, PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS FIX IS ONLY APPLICABLE FOR CUSTOMERS RUNNING WINDOWS SERVER 2003 ENTERPRISE EDITION.

First, you must enable ‘metabase.xml’ to be available to Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager by navigating to Start -> Administrative Tools -> Internet Information Service (IIS) Manager.

Right-click on the local computer name and choose Properties.

Place a check-mark next to the option which says Enable Direct Metabase Edit. Click OK.

Stop the IIS Admin service by Navigating to Start -> Administrative Tools -> Services.

Right-click on the IIS Admin Service, and choose Stop.

Navigate to the following directory: C:\WINDOWS\System32\inetsrv\

Locate the file ‘Metabase.XML’. Right-click on the file, select Copy, and then right-cllick anywhere on your desktop and choose Paste to create a backup. Once that is done, right-click on the original file, choose Open With..., and then Choose Program. Select Notepad to manually edit the file.

Click Edit and then Find, and search for the following line of text without the parentheses: (Enable32BitAppOnWin64=”TRUE”). Upon finding the line of code, delete it. Take extreme care not to make any other alterations to the code within the file. Doing so can potentially cause your entire server to cease functionality. Once you have made the changes, save the file and close it.

Navigate to Start -> Run, type CMD and press Enter. This will bring up a command prompt. Once open, type in IISRESET and press enter. IIS will now restart, and the ASP.NET tab should return to the Properties dialog box for web sites in Internet Information Services.