BUG: You receive an "Unauthorized: Logon Failed" message when you browse to a Web site that is hosted on a computer where IIS 6.0 is installed

Consider the following scenario: On a computer that is running Microsoft Internet Information Services 6.0 (IIS), you perform an unattended installation of the FTP Service. You configure the unattended installation of the FTP service to use the PathFTPRoot entry. After the FTP Service has been installed, you try to anonymously access a Web site that is hosted on IIS. When you do this, you receive an error message that is similar to the following:

This issue can occur if the password values for the anonymous user are not synchronized with the password values in the MSFTPSVC\AnonymousUserPass key and W3SVC\AnonymousUserPass keys in the IIS metabase.

To resolve this issue, use one of the following methods:

Method 1: Download and install Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1)

For more information about how to download and install Windows Server 2003 SP1, visit the following Microsoft Web site:http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsserver/bb463273.aspx (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsserver/bb463273.aspx)

Method 2: Synchronize the passwords

To synchronize the password values for the anonymous user to the password values in the MSFTPSVC\AnonymousUserPass and W3SVC\AnonymousUserPass keys in the IIS metabase, follow these steps:

1. Create a file on the hard disk titled Syncpw.vbs.
2. Paste the following code into the file that you created in step 1, and then save the file:

   set iis_ftp = GetObject("IIS://localhost/msftpsvc") 
   pwd = iis_ftp.get("AnonymousUserPass") 
   
   set iis_www =GetObject("IIS://localhost/w3svc") 
   iis_www.put "AnonymousUserPass" , pwd 
   
   iis_www.SetInfo

3. Click Start, click Run, type Cmd, and then click OK.
4. Use the cd command to change to the folder where you saved the Syncpw.vbs file.
5. Type cscript Syncpw.vbs, and then press ENTER.

When you perform an unattended installation of the FTP Service and you configure the unattended installation of the FTP service to use the PathFTPRoot entry, the computer assigns the IUSR_ComputerName account a new password. The new password that is assigned to the IUSR_ComputerName account is not synchronized with the password values in the MSFTPSVC\AnonymousUserPass and W3SVC\AnonymousUserPass keys in the IIS metabase.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a bug in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section. This bug was corrected in Windows Server 2003 SP1.