why do I have to reboot my IIS5???

[scroce]

I'm developing a data driven website that uses asp and msAccess2000. I am running IIS5 on a plain ol' windows2k workstation for testing purposes.

Let's say I open the access database manually to check on a field name, for example.

Then let's say I forget to close the access database by accident and I go to my site, and request a page that writes data to the browser from my database.

For some reason at this point, if the website tries to access the db while it's already open, the "page cannot be displayed" "unspecified error" error happens on the site, and from the on, any asp page that uses the db doesn't work.

The only thing that will fix it seems to be performing a full reboot of the server machine.

I don't remember this happening before on other websites I've designed using the same server. Why is this one different?

oh yeah - it always blows up on the line of code that reads something like:

cnMyConnection.Open Application("MyDatabaseConnection&quot

How much more water would there be in the ocean if it weren't for sponges?

 

[BBirkett]

Have you tried going into Control Panel -> Admin Tools -> Internet Services Manager when this happens. You can right click the default website, click properties, goto the Home Directory tab, then click on the unload button.

You could also try stopping and starting the default website (or the virtual one that you have created) from inside Internet Services Manager.

I find these two things often fix problems for me.

Let me know if it works

Brett Birkett B.Comp
Systems Analyst

 

[davdgreat]

I dont think that you have to restart your computer or IIS for this problem. I think that its when you open an access file ACCESS actuall (like most Microsoft Products) locks the file so that nothing else can access it. Try closing access before you open the website.

Let me know if it helps.
Dave M.

 

[scroce]

yes, i agree that you shouldn't have to reboot the whole darn machine. That's just silly - I have another data driven site hosted on the machine - and that one doesn't seem to have this problem. In fact it allows me to view a table directly in access as well as access it through the web browser with no error.

I have tried closing access - but then it won't ever work again after that - even after I completely close out of access itself.

The only thing that I found that rectifies the situiation is to totally reboot the computer. Logging off and logging on doesn't even work. Actually the inital error before the "unspecified" error says something about the data being "volatile"... and then that's the last you'll see of the pages until a full reboot.

BBirkett - I haven't tried that option - I'll try it today and let you know if it works. How much more water would there be in the ocean if it weren't for sponges?

 

[scroce]

the "unload" button on the virtual directory tab seemed to work. It allows me to not have to reboot the entire system.

However, I still don't understand why it does it in the first place.

This is a great workaround though - thank you. How much more water would there be in the ocean if it weren't for sponges?

 

[BBirkett]

scroce:

Something is going wrong with the inner workings of an IIS process when you try to access the database while it is open. It should just let you close access and keep working as normal, but you know microsoft!

Instead, your IIS's process seems to be getting jammed somehow when this happens. By clicking the unload button, it unloads the process and starts again only when somebody goes to a page in the site.

Everybody who has ever tried to write a COM component that they call from ASP code has probably seen the infamous permission denied message when you try to recompile the dll after somebody has been to the site. I just want to note here that you can click the same unload button before recompiling to get around the permission denied message. (I too use to restart every five minutes pulling out my hair each time!)

Glad this helped. Brett Birkett B.Comp
Systems Analyst