IIS services do not start and you receive a "The specified handle is invalid" error message when you try to start the Internet Services Manager on a Windows 2000 Server-based computer

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SYMPTOMS

When you run Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 5.0 on a Microsoft Windows 2000 Server-based computer, the IIS services may not start as expected. When you try to start Internet Services Manager, you may receive the following error message:

The specified handle is invalid.

When you try to start the World Wide Web Publishing Service, you may receive the following error:

Could not start the World Wide Web Publishing Service on Local Computer.
Error 1008: An attempt was made to reference a token that does not exist.

In addition, error messages that are similar to the following may be logged in the System Event log:

Message 1

Event Type: Error
Event Source: W3SVC
Event Category: None
Event ID: 116
Description: The service metabase path '/LM/W3SVC/' could not be opened. The data is the error code.
Data: 0000: 03 00 00 00

Message 2

Event Type: Error
Event Source: Service Control Manager
Event Category: None
Event ID: 7023
Description: The World Wide Web Publishing Service service terminated with the following error: The system cannot find the path specified.

Note This problem has been known to occur on computers that are running Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003. However, you may also experience these symptoms if you are not running SMS 2003.

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CAUSE

This problem may occur when the MachineGUID registry key is under stress. When the MachineGUID registry key is under stress, a condition may occur where the value of the MachineGUID registry key is not read correctly by the Crypto subsystem. Because the MachineGUID value is not read correctly, the Crypto subsystem incorrectly resets the value of the MachineGUID key. Therefore, the existing IIS RSA machinekey is no longer valid, and the IIS Admin service cannot access the metabase.

The MachineGUID registry key is the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Cryptography

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RESOLUTION

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322756 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/ ) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

To resolve this problem, follow these steps:

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Back up the existing machine key

Start Windows Explorer.
On the Tools menu, click Folder Options, click the View tab, click Show hidden files and folders, and then click OK.
Expand the following folder:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Crypto\RSA\MachineKeys
In the right pane, right-click Name, and then click to select Created.
Locate all files that start with c23, and then note the time stamp of each file in the Created column.
Compare the time stamp of each file that starts with c23, and then find the newest file that was created at the time that is closest to the time when the problem started.
Make a backup copy of the file that you found in step 6.
Right-click the file that you found in step 6, and then click Delete.
In the Confirm File Delete dialog box, click Yes.

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Rename the machine key on the remaining older machine key files

Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
Expand the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Cryptography
In the right pane, double-click MachineGuid.
Note the value in the Value data box, click Cancel, and then close Registry Editor.
Return to the C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Crypto\RSA\MachineKeys folder in Windows Explorer.
Only complete the step 7 through step 13 if the last half of the remaining c23 key name is different than the MachineGUID value obtained in step 4.
Locate and right-click the file that begins with c23, and then click Rename.
Select the last part of the file name from the underscore ("_") to the end, and then press DELETE.

For example, the file name may be similar to the following:
c2319c42033a5ca7f44e731bfd3fa2b5_4cbde50a-570f-47f5-8cc1-f6e151231826
. After you delete the end part of the file name, the file would be similar to the following:
c2319c42033a5ca7f44e731bfd3fa2b5_
Type the value of the MachineGuid entry that you noted in step 4.

For example, if the MachineGuid entry had a value 1b2162a0-ed5a-4d56-bd8a-8f2f65406b82, you would add this value to the file name after the underscore so that the file name would be similar to the following:
c2319c42033a5ca7f44e731bfd3fa2b5_1b2162a0-ed5a-4d56-bd8a-8f2f65406b82
Press ENTER.
Click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Services.
Restart the IIS services and all related SMS services.
Apply the hotfix that is described by this article to the server to prevent the problem.

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Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, submit a request to Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support (http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support)

Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 is required to install this hotfix.

Restart requirement

You must restart your computer after you install this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

   Date         Time   Version               Size  File name
   ------------------------------------------------------------
   14-Sep-2004  07:08  5.0.2195.6968      382,224  Advapi32.dll     
   24-Mar-2004  02:17  5.0.2195.6824       42,256  Basesrv.dll      
   24-Mar-2004  02:17  5.0.2195.6866       69,904  Browser.dll      
   21-Sep-2003  00:45  5.0.2195.6824      236,304  Cmd.exe          
   14-Sep-2004  07:08  5.131.2195.6926    533,776  Crypt32.dll      
   14-Sep-2004  07:08  5.131.2195.6926     62,736  Cryptnet.dll     
   24-Mar-2004  02:17  5.0.2195.6868       76,048  Cryptsvc.dll     
   24-Mar-2004  02:17  5.0.2195.6824      134,928  Dnsapi.dll       
   24-Mar-2004  02:17  5.0.2195.6876       92,432  Dnsrslvr.dll     
   04-Sep-2004  00:29  5.0.2195.6972      145,680  Dssbase.dll      
   04-Sep-2004  00:29  5.0.2195.6972      147,728  Dssenh.dll       
   24-Mar-2004  02:17  5.0.2195.6883       47,888  Eventlog.dll     
   19-Jun-2003  20:05  5.0.2195.6660      233,744  Gdi32.dll        
   24-Mar-2004  02:17  5.0.2195.6890      143,632  Kdcsvc.dll       
   11-Mar-2004  02:37  5.0.2195.6903      210,192  Kerberos.dll     
   24-Mar-2004  02:17  5.0.2195.6897      742,160  Kernel32.dll     
   21-Sep-2003  00:32  5.0.2195.6824       71,888  Ksecdd.sys
   11-Mar-2004  02:37  5.0.2195.6902      520,976  Lsasrv.dll       
   25-Feb-2004  23:59  5.0.2195.6902       33,552  Lsass.exe        
   24-Mar-2004  02:17  5.0.2195.6824       54,544  Mpr.dll          
   14-Sep-2004  07:08  5.0.2195.6974      335,120  Msgina.dll       
   19-Jun-2003  20:05  5.0.2195.6680      117,520  Msv1_0.dll       
   24-Mar-2004  02:17  5.0.2195.6897      312,592  Netapi32.dll     
   19-Jun-2003  20:05  5.0.2195.6695      371,984  Netlogon.dll     
   24-Mar-2004  02:17  5.0.2195.6896    1,028,880  Ntdsa.dll        
   24-Mar-2004  02:17  5.0.2195.6824      115,984  Psbase.dll       
   24-Mar-2004  02:17  5.0.2195.6892       90,264  Rdpwd.sys
   04-Sep-2004  00:29  5.0.2195.6972      132,368  Rsabase.dll      
   04-Sep-2004  00:29  5.0.2195.6972      134,928  Rsaenh.dll       
   24-Mar-2004  02:17  5.0.2195.6897      388,368  Samsrv.dll       
   24-Mar-2004  02:17  5.0.2195.6893      111,376  Scecli.dll       
   24-Mar-2004  02:17  5.0.2195.6903      253,200  Scesrv.dll       
   13-Sep-2004  19:27  5.0.2195.6974    5,898,752  Sp3res.dll       
   24-Mar-2004  02:17  5.0.2195.6897      403,216  User32.dll       
   14-Sep-2004  07:08  5.0.2195.6972      393,488  Userenv.dll      
   24-Mar-2004  02:17  5.0.2195.6824       50,960  W32time.dll      
   21-Sep-2003  00:32  5.0.2195.6824       57,104  W32tm.exe        
   10-Aug-2004  00:51  5.0.2195.6966    1,632,624  Win32k.sys
   12-Dec-2003  21:38  5.1.2600.1327      311,296  Winhttp.dll      
   11-Mar-2004  02:37  5.0.2195.6898      181,520  Winlogon.exe     
   25-Sep-2003  18:08  5.0.2195.6826      243,984  Winsrv.dll       
   24-Mar-2004  02:17  5.131.2195.6824    167,184  Wintrust.dll     
   24-Mar-2004  02:17  5.0.2195.6897      742,160  Kernel32.dll     
   10-Aug-2004  00:51  5.0.2195.6966    1,632,624  Win32k.sys
   25-Sep-2003  18:08  5.0.2195.6826      243,984  Winsrv.dll

Note This hotfix is intended only to prevent this issue from occurring. The hotfix will not fix the IIS handle error after it occurs. To repair an affected IIS installation, follow the steps in the "Resolution" section.

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