Windows 2000 FrontPage 2000 Server Extensions foolproof Method

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Date: Sat, 27 Nov 2004 00:48:54 -0500

Hello. I thought I would give a method of fixing a common issue with the FrontPage 2000 Server Extensions in IIS 5.
 So far I have applied this method four times and it worked everytime. I must point out though that Windows 2000
SP1 was never installed in this system. That alone my cause this method to fail as is descruibed in a Microsoft
Knowledge base article:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;294241

If this method helps under those circumstances I'd appreciate hearing any horror stories and\or success ones.

In any case here we go:

Say you want a FrontPage 2000 Server Extended virtual folder at D:\this and your op sys is installed on C: so that of
course we have:

C:\Inetpub\wwwroot as our default web

So first we check the NTFS permissions on D:\this and all its contents. We make sure at a minimum the NTFS
permissions are set like this:

Administrators: Full
Everyone: Read and Execute; List Folder Contents; Read
Network: Read and Execute; List Folder Contents; Read
System: Full

D:\this does NOT inherit permissions but everything in it does.

So once we make sure of these NTFS permissions we open IIS Manager. We right-click the Default Web Site and
choose New | Virtual Folder. We name it | this | Next | Finish. Also make sure that IIS Manager does NOT strengthen permissions or everything here will be for nought. Do that by right-clicking the Default Web Site | Properties
| Server Extensions | enable Don't Inherit Security Settings and check Manage Permissions manually. Do that and you
won't be nagged when you Check Server Extensions in IIS.

Now this will make a new Application for this. Leave that be for now. We want it to have the same session state of
the Default Web (shares global.asa there) so we'll come back to it later and remove the Application property.

Now Refresh (Action | Refresh) and close out.

Check those NTFS permissions again on D:\this. Windows has a nasty habit of changing these NTFS permissions. So
let's assume they are still as we set earlier.

Open IIS once again and select the new Application we just made and right-click | All Tasks | Configure Server Extensions. That should be available without issue. The closing of IIS makes sure this is the case. This is also
documented at Microsoft.

Configuring the Server Extensions just accept the defaults throughout. Make sure the new application uses the
site containing Author password for the new one. Just finish it out. Now Refresh. You should see _vti_bin appear at
the top. Let's assume it does. If it does not then the remaining of this method will be moot. You cannot proceed. But
as long as your FrontPage 2000 Server extensions are in good order _vti_bin should appear at top after the Refresh.

Now go to D:\this with Windows Explorer. You should have 5 new folders:

1) _private
2) _vti_cnf
3) _vti_pvt
4) _vti_script
5) _vti_txt

Make sure those NTFS permissions for D:\this have not changed. Now all these new folders should inherit the permissions we set on D:\this. EXCEPT one; _vti_pvt. That one should have some new permissions. The configuring
of the FrontPage 2000 Server Extensions should make these permissions but sometimes it doesn't. _vti_pvt should
now have these additional permissions:

Administrators: Full
Everyone: Read and Execute; List Folder Contents; Read
Network: Modify; Read and Execute; List Folder Contents; Read; Write
Interactive: List Folder Contents
System: Full

Set these permissions if Configuring the FrontPage 2000 Server Extensions didn't do its job.

Now we are ready to add this virtual folder to My Network Places. So open that up and Add Network Place. Type
in your URL to the new folder (http://www.mydomain.com/this) | Next. You should be asked for the User\Password
that you allowed in the Configuring the Front Page 2000 Server Extensions. Enter that. Then you should get a new
window and be prompted again after which you should get a listing of the contents of this.

If we have been successful with all this we can go remove the Application (IIS Manager | Right-click this | Properties | Virtual Directory | Remove.

Check those NTFS permissions again and often especially in the new _ folders.

This was for an Anonymous site. I would do this first and then back out of the permissions if you want to verifying every step of the way that when you double click the new folder in My Network Places that you do in fact get the contents of that virtual folder when the new window opens. If you do not then obviously a NTFS permission that was removed is the culprit.

-- 
George Hester
_________________________________

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