Troubleshooting FTP issues: Cannot log in, home directory inaccessible

Symptoms

1. Unable to log in as a domain's FTP user:
   

   CONFIG_TEXT: Cannot log in, home directory inaccessible

   Or:

   CONFIG_TEXT: 530 User cannot log in, home directory inaccessible

2. It is not possible to upload files using FTP:
   

   CONFIG_TEXT: An error occurred copying a file the FTP Server. Make sure you have permission to put files on the server.
   Details:
   200 Type set to I.
   227 Entering Passive Mode(203,0,113,2,255,28).
   550 index.html: Access is denied

3. When logging in locally from the server, the following error is shown:

   CONFIG_TEXT: C:\Users\Administrator>ftp example.com
   Connected to example.com.
   220 Microsoft FTP Service
   User (example.com:(none)): plesktest
   331 Password required
   Password:
   530-User cannot log in, home directory inaccessible.
   Win32 error:  The system cannot find the path specified.
    Error details: File system returned an error.
   530 End
   Login failed.
   ftp>

4. Unable to open a folder in File Explorer:

   CONFIG_TEXT: An error occurred opening that folder on the FTP Server. Make sure you have permission to access that folder.
   Details:
   The connection with the server was reset

Possible causes

There are several possible causes. This error occurs if any of the following statements are true:

1. Server hostname is longer than 15 symbols.

2. A domain is resolved to a different IP address which is not configured in Plesk.

3. The user does not exist in Conections pane under IIS > Sites > <IP_address> > localuser.

4. IP Address mapping is not configured correctly.

5. A user does not have permission to read the home directory under IIS > <IP_address> > localuser > example.com > FTP Authorization Rules.

6. FTP_ROOT_D value is set incorrectly in Windows registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\PLESK\PSA Config\Config.

7. The incorrect path is specified under IIS > Sites > Right click on <IP_address> > Manage FTP Site > Advanced Settings > Physical Path (tab) . The path should not include the space sign.

   Depending on the version of IIS, the path may vary. For example, in IIS version 6 it will be: IIS 6 > FTP Sites > IP > Properties > Home Directory > Local path. If there is not relevant path specified, correct it so that it redirects to C:\inetpub\vhosts\Servers\1

8. The FTP user link file C:\inetpub\vhosts\Servers\8\localuser\system_user\example.com\ is missing FTP user permissions.

9. The FTP user has no access to a domain home directory or is not listed in the access list.

10. The FTP user home directory name begins or ends with space.

11. FTP site is absent in IIS.

12. Other possible causes are described in this Microsoft article: Error message in IIS: "530 User cannot log in. Login failed."

Troubleshooting steps

1. Change the hostname for Windows 2008:
   
   1.1. Right-click the My Computer icon and choose Properties .
   1.2. Select the Computer Name tab and click on the Change button.
   1.3. Restart the server.
   
   To change the hostname on Windows Server 2012 and newer:
   
   1.1. Go to Control Panel > System > Change Settings > Change... and insert another Computer name (which should contain no more than 15 characters).
   1.2 Restart the server.

2. Check that a domain is resolving to the same IP that has been configured in Plesk. You can use the following command:

   nslookup example.com
   

   If your server is behind NAT use the internal IP address that forwarded to external in NAT rules.

3. Make sure that FTP user exists in IIS > <IP_address> > localuser . If it does not exist reconfigure FTP server according to step 5.

4. Check that the user is able to read the contents of the home directory. IIS manager > Sites > Right click on %IP_address% > Manage FTP Site > Advanced Settings > Physical Path

   

   If not, reconfigure the FTP site using the instructions in the next step.

5. Reconfigure FTP server.

   For Plesk 8 and Plesk 9 only: Repair permissions on the home folders of the problem domain. This can be done using the Control Panel: go to Domains, mark the problem domain, and click on Check permissions.

   Before reconfiguring FTP make sure that main domain of subscription is active.

   • For Plesk 11.0 and earlier: Use the Plesk command line tool ftpmng.exe as follows:

     "%plesk_bin%\ftpmng.exe" --remove-vhost --vhost-name=example.com   
     "%plesk_bin%\ftpmng.exe" --reconfigure-vhost --vhost-name=example.com
     

   • For Plesk 11.5: Use the utility repair.exe as follows:

     "%plesk_cli%\repair.exe" --reconfigure-ftp-site -webspace-name example.com
     

   If this issue occurs with every domain, you can repair the FTP configuration for all domains using the following commands:

   • For Plesk 11.0 and earlier: Use the Plesk command line tool ftpmng.exe as follows:

     "%plesk_bin%\ftpmng.exe" --remove-all
     "%plesk_bin%\ftpmng.exe" --reconfigure-all
     

   • For Plesk 11.5 and Plesk 12 Use the utility repair.exe as follows:

     "%plesk_cli%\repair.exe" --reconfigure-ftp-sites
     

   • For Plesk 12.5.30 use repair utility:

     plesk repair ftp
     

   Note: The above commands will not affect website functionality. However, any custom FTP configuration will vanish.

6. Open Registry Editor ( Start > Run > regedit ), navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\PLESK\PSA Config\Config , check the FTP_ROOT_D path and verify it corresponds to the existing physical directory.

7. Check the physical path for FTP sites in IIS > Sites > <IP_address> > Basic settings > Physical Path. This should be part of FTP_ROOT_D from the previous step.

8. Verify that the system user folder (FTP user) of a subscription exists in the FTP site path (see Cause). For example, C:\inetpub\vhosts\Servers\8\localuser\system_user\example.com\. If it does not, find a folder which contains this folder, for example C:\inetpub\vhosts\Servers\7\, and change the Physical Path accordingly.

9. Verify that the FTP user link file C:\inetpub\vhosts\Servers\8\localuser\system_user\example.com\ has Read&Execute permission for the FTP user (system_user).

10. Verify that FTP site exist under IIS > Sites > <IP_address>. If this site does not exist, go to Plesk > Tools & Settings > IP Addresses > Reread IP .

11. Install latest Windows server updates via System > Windows Updates > Install. Reboot system if necessary.
12. If nothing helped, enable debug logging to get additional information on the issue:

         How to enable FTP debug logging in IIS