Microsoft KB Archive/890015

Knowledge Base

You receive a "The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process" error message when you try to start a Web site in the Internet Information Services MMC snap-in

Article ID: 890015

Article Last Modified on 12/3/2007

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APPLIES TO

• Microsoft Internet Information Services 7.0
• Microsoft Internet Information Services 6.0

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Important This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

SYMPTOMS

When you right-click a Web site in the Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in, and then you click Start, the Web site does not start and you receive the following error message:

The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process.

This problem occurs on a computer that is running Microsoft IIS 6.0. This problem also occurs on a computer that is running both Microsoft IIS 7.0 and Windows Vista.

Additionally, the following two events may be logged in the System event log on the Microsoft Windows Server 2003-based computer that is running IIS: Event Source: W3SVC
Event ID: 1004
Description: Cannot register the URL prefix 'http://*:80/' for site '1'. The site has been deactivated. The data field contains the error number.

Event Source: HTTP
Event ID: 15005
Description: Unable to bind to the underlying transport for IPAddress:80. The IP Listen-Only list may contain a reference to an interface which may not exist on this machine. The data field contains the error number.

Note IPAddress is the IP address of the computer that is running IIS.

CAUSE

Typically, this issue occurs when one or more of the following conditions are true:

• Another process is using port 80 or port 443 on the computer that is running IIS. By default, IIS uses port 80 as the default TCP port and port 443 for Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).
• The ListenOnlyList registry subkey is not configured correctly on the computer that is running IIS.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, you must use the Netstat.exe utility at the command line to see if another process is using port 80 or port 443.

If port 80 is not being used, you must then examine the ListenOnlyList registry subkey on the computer that is running IIS. To do this, follow these steps.

Warning If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

1. Log on the computer that is running IIS by using an account that has administrative permissions.
2. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
3. At the command prompt, type the following command:

   netstat -ano

   Note For more information about the Netstat.exe utility, type the following command at the command prompt:

   netstat /?

4. If the ports are not being used, you must examine the ListenOnlyList registry subkey on the computer that is running IIS. To do, this follow these steps:
   1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
   2. In Registry Editor, locate the following registry subkey:

      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\HTTP\Parameters\ListenOnlyList

5. Make sure that the ListenOnlyList subkey contains valid IP addresses. If the ListenOnlyList subkey contains an IP address that is not valid, you must remove the IP address or change the ListenOnlyList subkey entries to reflect a valid IP address.
   
   Note By default, if the ListenOnlyList subkey is not present, an IP address of 0.0.0.0 is used. However, if the ListenOnlyList subkey is present and the 0.0.0.0 IP address is listed, no other IP address should be listed. If other IP address are also listed, the other IP addresses must be deleted.
6. Before you modify the ListenOnlyList subkey, you must stop the HTTP service on the computer that is running IIS. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
   2. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

      net stop http

      The following message appears:

      The following services are dependent on the HTTP service
      Stopping the HTTP service will also stop these services.
      
      World Wide Web Publishing Service
      HTTP SSL
      
      Do you want to continue this operation? (Y/N) [N]:

      Press Y, and then press ENTER.
      
      Note On Vista, the list of services in this message also includes the following services:

      • UPnP Device Host
      • SSDP Discovery
      • Print Spooler
      • Function Discovery Resource Publication
7. To remove the IP address that is not valid in Registry Editor, right-click the string value that contains the IP address, and then click Delete. To modify the IP address value, right-click the string value that contains the IP address, and then click Modify.
8. In the Edit String dialog box, type the correct IP address in the Value Data box, and then click OK.
9. Close Registry Editor.
10. You must now restart the HTTP service on the computer that is running IIS. To do this, follow these steps:
    1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
    2. At the command prompt, type the following command:

       net start http

11. You must also restart the HTTP SSL service and the World Wide Web Publishing Service on the computer that is running IIS. To do this, follow these steps:
    1. Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Services.
    2. In the Services MMC snap-in, right-click the following services, and then click Start:
       • World Wide Web Publishing Service
       • HTTP SSL
    3. Close the Services MMC snap-in.

Keywords: kbtshoot kbprb KB890015

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