cannot install IIS in XP Pro

[jonno]

I decided to try windows 7. Put it on its own hard drive in order not to screw w/ my rock solid XP Pro system. Made one mistake along the line where both drives were connected simultaneously, and it affected my Front Page in XP Pro. Says there's no server on port 80. Won't open. Also deleted all my restore points. At that point I looked at IIS and discovered it's missing all its critical data. Couldn't repair it even following Microsoft's command prompt instructions. Finally used control panel to uninstall it. Then tried to re-install it. But it refuses to copy any of the many dll files. They are in numerous places, verified, but it won't copy any of them. Once again I followed MS's detailed instructions for combining i386 folder from original XP Pro disc and the SP2 update disc. Same result. Can anyone help me here? Thanks. BTW, there is an ad floating right where I am trying to read this in the preview pane. Kind of a drag.

 

[RebateMonger]

Do you have multiple partitions on either of your hard drives?

 

[jonno]

I got it fixed. Yes I have multiple partitions; 3 on the original important drive, 4 on the new drive with 7 installed. XP was on the only primary partition on the first drive.

The way it worked is seemingly insanebut... I finally did a clean install of XP on the second hard drive (that had windows 7 on it; different partition) and hooked up both hard drives simultaneously, and had all 7 partitions going, then IIS finally installed correctly on the original windows on the first drive. Front Page still wouldn't open because it was calling for permission from somewhere and wasn't getting it. So I had to change some security settings, and now have to log in each time I open Front Page (even if I don't use a password), but it's 95% back. What insanity.

And for those on the fence, I don't care much for Windows 7. Some things are quite slick, but if you are already very organized and know where you want to put stuff and find it, it'll fight you. I've yet to figure out how to copy a file to a new location by dragging. C'mon!
The most truthful review I read, a guy complained that there was nothing new and good here; it was simpley a redesign of Vista. I thought, this guy's a curmudgeon. But now I think he was on target. Of course, I'm probably just a curmudgeon.

 

[RebateMonger]

I'm not sure I understand what happened, but I'll mention that installing Windows on a separate hard drive WHEN ANOTHER HARD DRIVE THAT ALSO HAS WINDOWS INSTALLED is connected is a really bad idea. Windows tries to protect the "old" Windows installation and will re-letter the drives on the "new" Windows installation.

It's not clear to me what happened, but you did mention "connecting both disks at the same time", so this may have been a factor.

Glad you've got it at least partially working.

By the way, at least with XP Professional, you have to DISABLE "Simple File Sharing" for IIS and your web sites to work properly. Otherwise, you have permission problems. This could be a factor with your Win7 install.

 

[jonno]

Thanks for your help. FYI I was trying to restore IIS on my XP Pro system. I have it almost completely back, but had to mess with some permissions in local security policy. I am curious about what you said...you have to DISABLE "Simple File Sharing" for IIS and your web sites to work properly. Can you explain where I would do that? I've been thru so many things with this, my head is spinning. Thanks again

 

[RebateMonger]

Thanks for your help. FYI I was trying to restore IIS on my XP Pro system. I have it almost completely back, but had to mess with some permissions in local security policy. I am curious about what you said...you have to DISABLE "Simple File Sharing" for IIS and your web sites to work properly. Can you explain where I would do that?

In Windows Explorer:
/Tools/Folder options/View/Simple File Sharing.... <---Disable it.

 

[jonno]

Thanks, that was easy. I unchecked it. But nothing has changed as far as I can tell. I still have to log on to Front Page, even with a blank password. Eh, it's a small thing.