SharePoint V2: Error: HTTP 404: File Not Found Internet Explorer

Description:

Errors:
* Service Unavailable
* HTTP 404: File Not Found Internet Explorer.

After installing Macromedia RoboHelp to a SharePoint Portal Server 2003 web server, the existing SharePoint portals were returning the "Service Unavailable" error. RoboHelp was deinstalled from the server. Now, attempts to hit the SharePoint portals from Internet Explorer were behaving oddly. Using the FQDN (e.g. http://portalname.domain.com) in the URL was resulting in a 404 error. However, it was possible to hit the portal sites using the IP address and manually typing default.aspx (e.g. http://192.168.1.10/default.aspx).

Solution:

* Backup IIS Metabase:
IIS Manager > Right Click the IIS Server Node > All Tasks > Backup/Restore Configuration > Create Backup

* Compare Metabase Configurations:
C:\Windows\System32\inetsrv\history > Locate the current metabase xml file and the most recent, valid one prior to the faulty installation attempt.

In this particular case we used an xml compare tool and identified that the current IIS Metabase had been corrupted by the faulty Robohelp installation. We found that the web services section of the current IIS Metabase was missing these entries below, preventing SharePoint from processing the HTTP requests.

* 1,C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\60\isapi\owssvr.dll,0,Windows SharePoint Services,Windows SharePoint Services
* 1,C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\60\isapi\shtml.dll,0,Windows SharePoint Services,Windows SharePoint Services
* 1,C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\60\isapi\_vti_adm\admin.dll,0,Windows SharePoint Services,Windows SharePoint Services
* 1,C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\60\isapi\_vti_aut\author.dll,0,Windows SharePoint Services,Windows SharePoint Services

* Restore a Valid Metabase Configuration:
IIS Manager > Right Click the IIS Server Node > All Tasks > Backup/Restore Configuration > Highlight valid backup prior to faulty installation > Restore

* Validate:
After restoring a valid IIS Metabase backup, the SharePoint portals were functioning properly. They became accessible both through FQDN or IP Address.

Notes:

* It is not recommended to use this solution every time an IE 404 error is encountered. There are several possible causes for the IE 404 error. This example is one scenario where an IE 404 error was encountered and IIS Metabase restore happened to be the solution. It is recommended to fully investigate an issue and taking proper precautions before applying this solution.

* It is a good idea to take IIS Metabase backups prior to installing software to a web server that would alter the IIS configuration. Having the IIS Metabase backup handy provides an extra safety net in the event that a configuration needs to be rolled back.