Error message when you try to visit a Web page that is hosted on a computer that is running Internet Information Services 7.0: "HTTP Error 503. The service is unavailable"

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SYMPTOMS

When you try to visit a Web site that is hosted on a computer that is running Microsoft Internet Information Services 7.0, you receive the following error message:

HTTP Error 503. The service is unavailable.

Additionally, an error message that resembles the following is logged in the System event log:

Log Name: System
Source: Microsoft-Windows-WAS
Event ID: 5009
Task Category: None
Level: Warning
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: ComputerName
Description:
A process serving application pool 'DefaultAppPool' terminated unexpectedly. The process id was '432'. The process exit code was '0xfffffffe'.

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CAUSE

This issue occurs when an empty folder from an earlier version of the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 is located in the %windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework folder.

For example, you have an empty folder that is named v2.0.40727 or earlier that is located in the %windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework folder. The computer is running IIS 7.0 and the original release version of the .NET Framework 2.0 (version 2.0.50727).

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RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, you must remove or rename the empty folder. If the folder is not empty, you must verify that a beta build of the .NET Framework 2.0 is not installed on the computer. To do this, follow these steps:

Click Start
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, and then click Control Panel.
In Control Panel, click Programs, and then click Programs and Features.
Select the .NET Framework 2.0 Beta version, and then click Uninstall.