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Application pool crashes on Plesk for Windows: Cannot read configuration file due to insufficient permissions

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Alexander Tsmokalyuk
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kb: technical ABT: Group A Plesk Onyx for Windows

Applicable to:

  • Plesk Onyx for Windows

Symptoms

  1. Application pools crashes. Errors are logged to Event Viewer > Windows Logs > Application :

    CONFIG_TEXT: The worker process for application pool 'DefaultAppPool' encountered an error 'Cannot read configuration file due to insufficient permissions
    ' trying to read configuration data from file '\\?\C:\inetpub\temp\apppools\DefaultAppPool\DefaultAppPool.config', line number '0'. The data field contains the error code.

  2. Process Monitor with filter "Process name: w3wp.exe" shows the following:

    mceclip0.png

  3. Website shows an error:

    PLESK_ERROR: 503 Service Unavailable

Cause

Insufficient permissions for the application user on the application pool configuration file. In the symptoms above, the user is "DefaultAppPool" and the file is C:\Inetpub\temp\appPools\DefaultAppPool\DefaultAppPool.config

Resolution

Note: This article may require additional administrative knowledge to apply. If any help required, contact server’s administrator or hosting support.

For one website:

  1. Login to the server over RDP.
  2. Go to C:\Inetpub\temp\appPools and open application pool folder mentioned in the error message (DefaultApplicationPool, in the example above).
  3. Open properties of application pool configuration file mentioned in the error and switch to Security tab.
  4. Add or select the username shown in the Process Monitor (DefaultAppPool user in the example above)
  5. Set the following permissions and click OK:

    pool.config.png

In case multiple application pools are stopped

1. Login to the server over RDP.

2. Open C:\inetpub\temp\, right-click on the folder appPools > Properties > Security and add Read permissions for IIS_IUSRS group as follows:

Untitled.png

3. Stop IIS:

C:\> iisreset /stop

4. Remove all IIS applications pools' temporary files and folders. By default, they are located inside C:\inetpub\temp\appPools\:

C:\> for /d %p in (C:\inetpub\temp\appPools\*) do rmdir /q /s "%p"

5. Start IIS:

C:\> iisreset /start

The configuration files will be regenerated on demand: when a website is opened.

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