Troubleshooting the FTP error in Plesk for Windows Server: User cannot log in, home directory inaccessible

Symptoms

When connecting locally from Windows Server via FTP using a subscription FTP user, the operation fails with:

C:\> ftp example.com
Connected to example.com.
220 Microsoft FTP Service
User (example.com:(none)): john_doe
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.

Consequences

• When connecting to this server via an FTP client using a subscription FTP user, the operation fails with:

  PLESK_INFO: Cannot log in, home directory inaccessible

  OR

  PLESK_INFO: 530 User cannot log in, home directory inaccessible

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. Check it by running the command 'hostname' in a command prompt on your Windows Server.

2. A domain name/hostname, which is used for an FTP connection, is resolved to a different IP address which is not configured in Plesk.

3. An FTP user is misconfigured in Internet Information Services (IIS):

   3.1. An FTP user does not exist in Connections pane at IIS Manager > Sites > <IP_address> > localuser.

   3.2. An incorrect path is specified in IIS Manager at SERVERNAME > Sites > right-click on <IP_address> > Manage FTP Site > Advanced Settings > Physical Path (tab). The path should not include the space sign.

   3.3. An FTP site is absent in IIS.

4. An invalid FTP_ROOT_D string is set in Windows Registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\PLESK\PSA Config\Config.

5. An FTP user has wrong permissions on its home directory %plesk_vhosts%Servers\7\localuser\system_user.

6. If Network address translation (NAT) is used, its configuration may not be properly set up.

Troubleshooting Steps

Note: The troubleshooting steps below require administrative access to a Plesk server.

1. If a hostname is longer than 15 characters, reduce it:

   • Windows Server 2012 / Windows Server 2016

     1.1. Go to Control Panel > System > Change Settings > Change... and specify a new Computer name, which should not contain more than 15 characters.

     1.2. Apply the changes.

     1.3. Restart the server.

   • Windows Server 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.

2. Make sure that a domain is resolving to the same IP address that is set in Plesk at Domains > example.com > Web Hosting Access. Use any online tool, for example MxToolbox DNS Lookup, or the 'nslookup' utility (if installed) in a command prompt:

   C:\> nslookup example.com

   If IP addresses differ in Plesk and the Internet, apply one of the following solutions:

   • Change the IP address, to which the domain resolves to, at Domains > example.com > Web Hosting Access.

     OR

   • Change the IP address to the one that is specified in Plesk on registrar side.

3. Run the Plesk FTP repair tools:

   Note: The below commands will not affect website functionality. However, custom FTP configuration, done not via Plesk, will be reset.

   • Repair an FTP server in a command prompt:

     C:\> plesk repair ftp -y

   • Reconfigure an FTP service for all domains in PowerShell using these two commands:

     PS plesk bin subscription -l | % { if ($_) { plesk bin repair --reconfigure-ftp-site -webspace-name $_ } }
     
     plesk bin subscription -l | % { if ($_) { plesk bin repair --repair-webspace-system-users -webspace-name $_ } }

4. Check Windows Registry:

   4.1. Open Registry Editor: click Windows Start > type in regedit > click Run command.

   4.2. In Windows Registry, expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\PLESK\PSA Config and click on the Config key.

   4.3. Verify that the FTP_ROOT_D string exists and has the same path as in step 4, but without the number at the end. If the FTP_ROOT_D string does not exist, create a new string value:

   
   
   
   

5. Verify that an FTP user has the following permissions on its home directory %plesk_vhosts%Servers\7\localuser\<system_user>:

   
   
   
   

6. If NAT is used, review network configuration and make sure that the public IP address is assigned to an existent private IP address. After that, assign domains to the existing IP addresses.

Additional Information

• Error message in IIS: "530 User <Username> cannot log in. Login failed." - Microsoft Support

If a local FTP connection fails with:

PLESK_INFO: 550-Access is denied.
Win32 error: Access is denied.
Error details: Authorization rules denied the access.

Make sure that an FTP user has "Read" and "Write" permissions in IIS Manager.