Error message when you access a Web site or a virtual directory that is hosted in IIS 6.0: "HTTP Error 401.1"

Consider the following scenario:

• You have Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 installed on a computer that is running Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2).
• You use IIS Manager to create a Web site or a virtual directory.
• You set the content directory of the Web site or the virtual directory by specifying a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path to the directory that contains the content of the Web site or of the virtual directory.
• You set access credentials to the directory by specifying a user name and a password.
• You change the content directory from a UNC path to a local path.

In this scenario, you cannot access the Web site or the virtual directory. Additionally, you receive the following error message:This issue typically occurs when all the following conditions are true:

• The UNCUserName IIS metabase property or UNCPassword IIS metabase property is set in a parent folder on the IIS metabase path of the Web site or the virtual directory.
• The Web site is based on ASP.NET 2.0.

This issue occurs because there is an error in the Inetmgr.dll file in IIS Manager. Specifically, when you specify a UNC path as the content directory, and you then specify access credentials to this directory, the UNCUserName and UNCPassword IIS metabase properties are created in the IIS metabase. When you change the content directory from a UNC path to a local path, the UNCUserName IIS metabase property is removed from the IIS metabase. However, the UNCPassword IIS metabase property is not removed. If the UNCUserName IIS metabase property or UNCPassword IIS metabase property are set in a parent folder on the IIS metabase path, the UNCUserName and UNCPassword IIS metabase properties are inherited for the Web site or the virtual directory. Therefore, the user name and password are incorrect.

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 the problem described in this article. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

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, contact 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: 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

You must have IIS 6.0 installed to apply this hotfix. Additionally, the computer must be running Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2).

Restart requirement

If IIS Manager is running when you apply this hotfix, you must restart the 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 item in Control Panel.

32-bit-based versions of IIS 6.0

64-bit-based versions of IIS 6.0

IA-64-bit-based versions of IIS 6.0

To work around this issue, you can manually delete the UNCPassword property by using the Adsutil.vbs administration utility. For more information about how to use the Adsutil.vbs administration utility in IIS 6.0, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

For more information about UNC authentication, visit the following Microsoft Web site:For more information about the UNCUserName property, visit the following Microsoft Web site:For more information about the UNCPassword property, visit the following Microsoft Web site: