NNTP and SMTP in IIS Fail to Start (197303)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Internet Information Server 4.0
This article was previously published under Q197303

SYMPTOMS

The NNTP and SMTP components in Internet Information Server (IIS) 4.0 fail to start if the installation path for IIS is anything other than %windir%\system32\inetsrv. The following error is logged in the event log:
Event ID: 7023 The "" service terminated with the following error: The system can not find the file specified.

CAUSE

The installation path for NNTP and SMTP is hard-coded in IIS 4.0.

RESOLUTION

A supported fix that corrects this problem is now available from Microsoft, but has not been fully regression tested and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem. If you are not severely affected by this specific problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Windows NT service pack.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information on support costs, please go to the following address on the World Wide Web:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS

The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later: 

   Date       Time     Size      File name   Platform
   --------------------------------------------------
   11/25/98   08:05p    33,535   Ims.inf       (x86)
   12/02/98   11:29a   515,856   Imsinsc.dll   (x86)
   11/25/98   08:04p    36,868   Ins.inf       (x86)

   12/03/98   09:59p    33,628   Ims.inf       (Alpha)
   12/02/98   11:22a   615,696   Imsinsc.dll   (Alpha)
   12/03/98   10:00p    37,049   Ins.inf       (Alpha)

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Internet Information Server version 4.0.

MORE INFORMATION

IIS 2.0 allowed the system files path to be changed during the Setup program. This problem usually occurs when IIS 2.0 has been upgraded to IIS 4.0.

This is a setup bug. Therefore you have to do the following to make the fix work:

  • Remove SMTP and NNTP services.
  • Create a installation point (example, directory) containing all installation files.
  • Replace the installation files with the ones from the fix.
  • Install the SMTP and NNTP services again using the files from the installation point.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:9/22/2005
Keywords:kbHotfixServer kbQFE kbbug kbfix kbQFE KB197303
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