BUG: AppUnload Does Not Unload Application (246111)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0
  • Microsoft Internet Information Server 4.0
This article was previously published under Q246111

SYMPTOMS

Executing the AppUnload method on a loaded Internet Information Server (IIS) application may not unload the application from memory.

CAUSE

IIS is executing a string-sensitive search in order to locate the application to unload.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, connect to the application by passing the following string to GetObject. Make sure that the case of the string passed is not changed. 
  Dim DirObj 
  Set DirObj = GetObject("IIS://LocalHost/W3SVC/1/Root/SomeApp") 
  DirObj.AppUnload
"SomeApp" should be replaced with the name of the application you wish to unload as you see it in the Internet Service Manager.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a bug in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

To reproduce this behavior, use the Internet Service Manager and set an application in IIS to Run in a separate memory space. When you access an ASP page in this application for the first time, a new Mtx.exe process will appear in Task Manager. Select Unload from the properties of the application in the Internet Service Manager (don't leave the property sheet open between operations). The Mtx.exe process disappears from Task Manager. The application is unloaded at this point, so in order to test the unloading code, you must reload the application. You can reload the application by hitting an ASP page in the application. Next, try to unload the application by using the following code: 
  Dim DirObj 
  Set DirObj = GetObject("IIS://LocalHost/W3SVC/1/ROOT/SomeApp") 
  DirObj.AppUnload
You will see that the Mtx.exe process is not unloaded. Changing "Root" to "ROOT" broke the code.

NOTE: This solution will not work unless the application resides in a virtual directory. To convert a logical directory to a virtual directory, use the following steps:
  1. Using Internet Service Manager, change the application to run in-process. (Clear the Run in separate memory space option.)
  2. Using the MetaEdit tool (which is part of the IIS Resource Kit), add the following keys:
    3001	Path			C:\inetpub\wwwroot\123
1002	KeyType			IIsWebVirtualDir
  3. Using Internet Service Manager, change the application to run out-of-process. (Select Run in separate memory space.)

    The application will be then be running out of a virtual directory and the code will successfully unload the application.

    NOTE: This problem does not occur with Internet Information Services 5.0.

REFERENCES

IIS Documentation on AppUnload
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:11/17/2003
Keywords:kbBug KB246111
©2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.