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Error message when you try to upgrade Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 to Windows SharePoint Services 3.0: "The system cannot find the path specified"

Article ID: 926197 - View products that this article applies to.

SYMPTOMS

When you try to upgrade Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 to Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, the upgrade process fails. Additionally, you receive the following error message:

The system cannot find the path specified.

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This issue occurs if an application pool that is associated with the Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 Administration Web site includes non-alphanumeric characters in the name. For example, this issue occurs if an application pool has the following name

?WSSAdmin!

In this case, the Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 Internet Information Services (IIS) Wrapper cannot correctly interpret the name of the application pool during the upgrade process.

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RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, create a new application pool that contains only alphanumeric characters in the name. To do this, follow these steps:

Use an account that has administrative permissions to log on to the computer that is running Windows SharePoint Services 2.0.
Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
Expand ServerName (local computer), and then click Application Pools.
On the Action menu, right-click the Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 application pool that contains the non-alphanumeric characters, point to All Tasks, and then click Save Configuration to a File.
In the Save Configuration to a File dialog box, type a name for the file, enter the location where you want to save the file, and then click OK.
On the Action menu, right-click Application Pools, point to New, and then click Application Pool (from file).
In the Import Configuration dialog box, click Browse, locate the file that you saved in step 5, click Read File, and then click OK.
In the Application pool ID box, type a name for the application pool by using only alphanumeric characters. For example, type WSSAdministration.
Under ServerName (local computer), expand Web Sites, expand Default Web Site, right-click SharePoint Central Administration, and then click Properties.
Click the Home Directory tab. In the Application pool list, click the new application pool that you created, and then click OK.
Perform the upgrade.