DOCUMENT:Q248013  31-JUL-2001  [iis]
TITLE   :Err Msg: HTTP Error 500-12 Application Restarting
PRODUCT :Internet Information Server
PROD/VER::5.0
OPER/SYS:
KEYWORDS:kbOSWin2000 kbiis500prod2web kbhttp50012 kbProd2Web

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The information in this article applies to:

 - Microsoft Internet Information Services version 5.0 
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SYMPTOMS
========

When a client attempts to connect to a Microsoft Internet Information Services
(IIS) 5.0 application that is restarting, the browser displays the following
error message:

   

   The page cannot be displayed
   ----------------------------

   There is a problem with the page you are trying to reach and it cannot be
   displayed.

   HTTP Error 500-12 Application Restarting
   Internet Information Services

WORKAROUND
==========

This message is harmless and usually disappears after the browser is refreshed.
There is no good workaround once the message appears from a production
environment. However, if the message appears for an extended period of time, you
may want to consider stopping all the Web services and reloading the
application.

MORE INFORMATION
================

When certain changes are made to an IIS 5.0 application, those changes are
committed to the Global.asa file for the application. When you save changes to
the Global.asa file, the server finishes processing all of the current
application requests before it recompiles the Global.asa file. During that time,
the server refuses additional requests and returns an error message stating that
the request cannot be processed while the Web site is restarting.

After all of the current user requests have been processed, the server deletes
all active sessions, calling the Session_OnEnd event for each session it
deletes, closes the application, and then calls the Application_OnEnd event. The
Global.asa file is then recompiled.

Subsequent user requests will start the application and create new sessions, and
trigger the Application_OnStart and Session_OnStart events. When you view an ASP
page while the application is running Application_OnStart, the following error
message occurs:

   HTTP Error 500-12 Application Restarting

The message is harmless and usually disappears when you refresh the page in your
browser.

This error message may also be caused by anti-virus software scanning. When
anti-virus software scans an IIS Web application, IIS may behave as if the
Global.asa has been modified and thus restart the web application. Turning off
virus scanning on the global.asa file may help resolve this issue. If a client
GET request is made during this time, the web server will return a 500-12 error.
For additional information on the same error message occurring in Site Server
3.0, Commerce Edition, click the article number below to view the article in the
Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   Q236446 Err Msg: HTTP 1.1 Application Restarting

Additional query words: IIS 5

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Keywords          : kbOSWin2000 kbiis500prod2web kbhttp50012 kbProd2Web 
Technology        : kbiisSearch kbiis500
Version           : :5.0
Issue type        : kbprb

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