FP98: Cannot Create Web Using .com, .dll, or .exe Extension

When you create a Web with a name that ends with an extension, such as .com, .dll, or .exe, you will experience the following:

• You are prompted repeatedly to enter your password.
  
  -or-
• You receive an HTTP 500 error message repeatedly.
  
  -and-
• An empty Web is created.

In contrast, this problem does not occur if your Web ends with an extension, such as .bat or .asp.

The Web server interprets the Web name as a command that it cannot execute.

When you receive the Password prompt, click Cancel. You may need to click Cancel as much as six times. If you receive the HTTP 500 error message, click OK. You may need to click OK as much as three times. Delete the empty Web. Create a new Web that does not use the .com, .dll, or .exe file extension.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

The password dialog box may prompt you for administrator, author, or end- user permission.

If you open another Web before you delete the empty Web you will not be able to open the empty Web again. In this case, you will need to delete the Web in Windows Explorer and you will need to edit the Services.cnf configuration file to remove it from the list of Webs that appear in FrontPage Explorer.

For more information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: