Why Do I Receive a "The page cannot be found" Error With ASP.NET On Windows Server 2003?

When you have installed ASP.NET on Windows Server 2003, you may receive the following 404 - Page Not Found error:

The page cannot be found

The page you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.

Please try the following:

  • Make sure that the Web site address displayed in the address bar of your browser is spelled and formatted correctly.
  • If you reached this page by clicking a link, contact the Web site administrator to alert them that the link is incorrectly formatted.
  • Click the Back button to try another link.

HTTP Error 404 - File or directory not found.
Internet Information Services (IIS)

Technical Information (for support personnel)

  • Go to Microsoft Product Support Services and perform a title search for the words HTTP and 404.
  • Open IIS Help, which is accessible in IIS Manager (inetmgr), and search for topics titled Web Site Setup, Common Administrative Tasks, and About Custom Error Messages.


This error is only thrown with dynamic ASPX pages; static HTML files, graphics etc are served just fine.

This error is caused by the fact that IIS 6 disallows the ASP.NET 2.0 Web Service Extension. To fix this, follow these steps:

  1. Open up the Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager (which you find under Administrative Tools)
  2. Expand your server
  3. Select Web Service Extensions
  4. In the right hand pane, click ASP.NET v2.0.50727 (or a later version number) and then click the Allow button.

From now on, IIS is allowed to serve ASP.NET 2.0 pages, and won't throw 404 errors for every page in your site.


Where to Next?

Wonder where to go next? You can post a comment on this article.

Doc ID 254
Full URL https://imar.spaanjaars.com/254/why-do-i-receive-a-the-page-cannot-be-found-error-with-aspnet-on-windows-server-2003
Short cut https://imar.spaanjaars.com/254/
Written by Imar Spaanjaars
Date Posted 02/21/2004 12:24
Date Last Updated 02/28/2006 18:53
Date Last Reviewed 02/28/2006 18:53

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