Error Message: The Page Cannot Be Displayed . . . Cannot Find Server or DNS Error (265847)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Internet Information Services 5.0
  • Microsoft Certificate Services 2.0
This article was previously published under Q265847

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to connect through Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to an Internet Information Services (IIS) 5.0 Web site with Certificate Services 2.0 installed, the following error message may be returned to the browser:
The Page Cannot Be Displayed . . . Cannot Find Server or DNS Error

CAUSE

The Certificate Services 2.0 Root Certificate Authority Certificate is bound to IIS as a Server Certificate. During the installation of Certificate Services 2.0, a Root Certificate Authority Certificate is generated for the server. This certificate is used by Certificate Services only.

RESOLUTION

  1. Use the Server Certificate Wizard in IIS to remove the current certificate.
  2. Generate a new request by performing the steps in the following Knowledge Base article:

    228821 Generating a Certificate Request File Using Certificate Wizard

  3. When a request is generated, perform the following steps to have Certificate Services sign the request and issue a certificate:

    1. On the Web server, open the browser and go to http://<server name>/certsrv.
    2. Select Request a Certificate, select Advanced Request, and then select Submit a certificate request using a base64 encoded PKCS #10 file or a renewal request using a base64 encoded PKCS #7 file.
    3. Cut and paste the information from the file you generated in step 2 into the form, and then click Submit.

      NOTE: Open the file in Notepad, and then copy the contents to the clipboard. Browsing to the file usually fails due to the browser security settings.
    4. Depending on the setting of the policy module under Certificate Services, the certificate will either be issued or it will notify you to check back within 10 days. If necessary, go into the Certificate Service snap-in in Administrative Tools and find the request under the pending certificates. Right-click the request, and then click Issue to issue the certificate.

      NOTE: If the policy module is set to automatically issue the request, this step is not necessary.
    5. Open the browser again, open the CertSrv directory, and then select Check on a pending certificate.
    6. Download the certificate to the local machine. Download the certification path to set up the chain properly. The default name for the certificate is Certnew.cer. For the path, the default is Certnew.p7b.
  4. When the file is downloaded, perform the steps in the following Knowledge Base article to install the server certificate:

    228836 Installing a New Certificate for Use in SSL/TLS

NOTE: When the server certificate is installed, verify that the server is listening on port 443 under the SSL port on the Web site tab to make a connection to IIS through SSL.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:7/13/2004
Keywords:kbpending kbprb KB265847
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