How to: Rename a Virtual Directory in IIS 6.0

Important This article contains information about editing the metabase. Before you edit the metabase, verify that you have a backup copy that you can restore if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, see the "Configuration Backup/Restore" Help topic in Microsoft Management Console (MMC).

In Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0, the option to rename a virtual directory in the Internet Information Services Manager (ISM) is not available because of changes in the metabase architecture.

Warning If you edit the metabase incorrectly, you can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall any product that uses the metabase. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems that result if you incorrectly edit the metabase can be solved. Edit the metabase at your own risk.

Note Always back up the metabase before you edit it.

A user with administrative rights can save changes to Metabase.xml if the IIS Admin service is stopped or if the Direct Metabase Edit feature has been enabled. To enable this feature:

1. In the ISM, right-click the local computer name, and then click Properties.
2. Click to select the Enable Direct Metabase Edit check box.

To rename a virtual directory in IIS 6.0:

1. Open Metabase.xml in Notepad. The default location for Metabase.xml is C:\Windows\System32\Inetsrv.
2. On the Edit menu, click Find, and then find the current virtual directory name.
3. Edit the virtual directory name.
4. Close Metabase.xml. When you are prompted, save the changes.
5. In the IISM , right-click the local computer name, and then select All Tasks.
6. On the All Tasks menu, click Save Configuration to Disk.

Note If you are renaming a newly created virtual directory, the virtual directory may not appear in Metabase.xml. It takes at least two minutes for the change to appear in the IISM if no other changes are pending. To see this immediately in the IISM, close and then reopen the IISM.

For more information about editing Metabase.xml, see the IIS 6.0 help. To view this information:

1. Click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
2. On the Help menu, click Help Topics.
3. Expand Internet Information Services.
4. Expand Server Administration Guide.
5. Expand Configuring the Metabase.