This is a collection of questions and answers about Microsoft® Content Management Server (MCMS) gathered from the MCMS newsgroup. This content is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. If you have feedback about one of these topics or would like to add information, please post your comments to the MCMS newsgroup.

 

Thank you,

Stefan Goßner Escalation Engineer

Steve Cawood Program Manager

MCMS 2002 - Debugging FAQ - Table of Contents

"Access denied" when accessing the site
403 when browing the site
COMException 0x80041b58
DCA log
Enabling TraceListener Support
Error message: "Server Application Unavailable"
Incompatible placeholder type
Parser error
PlaceholderToBind Not Found
Template debugging in Microsoft Visual Studio .NET
Troubleshooting 500 server error
Wrong image version

Topic: "Access denied" when accessing the site

When accessing my site I receive password prompts and see an "Access Denied" message. Why does this happen?

Answer

There are several possible reasons for this behaviour:

• You added a hard link to a Posting that the current user does not have rights to.
• The ASPNET account (IIS 5) or Application Pool Acount (IIS 6) does not have the SeImpersonatePriviledge.
• Your machine has MCMS 2002 Standard Edition installed, and the server name configured in the SCA is not identical to the machine name.
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Topic: 403 when browing the site

When browsing my site I receive a 403 response. How can I solve this?

Answer

Do the following checks:

1. Check in the IIS master properties if the two CMS ISAPI filters are listed and that they are not listed twice
   
2. If this is Windows XP:
   
   Go to your Local Computer Policy, click Computer Configuration, then Windows Settings, then Security Settings, then Local Policy, then Security Options.
   
   Change the "Network access: Sharing and security model for local accounts" setting to "Classic - local users authenticate as themselves".
   
3. If Sharepoint Portal Server 2003 is installed look in the Internet Information Server (IIS) log. You will see a 403.18 which means "Cannot execute requested URL in the current application pool." Ensure that MCMS and Sharepoint Portal Server are configured to use the same application pool.
   
4. Ensure that all MCMS folders run in the same application pool as the Web site. See here for details:
   842429 - You receive a 403.18 error message when you run an MCMS application in a different application pool on IIS 6.0
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Topic: COMException 0x80041b58

The following exception occurs when I browse my web site: COMException (0x80041b58). What can be the reason?

Answer

There are several different reasons for this. Check the detailed call stack.

1. SeImpersonatePriviledge missing:
   
   Windows 2000 with SP4, Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP with SP2 implement a new priviledge which needs to be assigned to the ASPNET account (IIS 5) or to the Application Pool Account (IIS 6).
   

   [COMException (0x80041b58)]
   Microsoft.ContentManagement.Interop.Publishing.CmsHttpContextClass.Initialize(String currentUrl, String httpHostName, Int32 serverPort, Boolean isSecureServer, Int32 iisInstanceId, String remoteMachineAddress, String authenticationType, String authenticationToken, Int32 windowsUserHandle, String ClientAccountName) +0
      Microsoft.ContentManagement.Publishing.CmsHttpContext.initialize(IntPtr windowsToken, String cmsAuthToken, String clientUserName, String clientAccountType) +297
      Microsoft.ContentManagement.Publishing.CmsHttpContext.getCmsHttpContextFromIdentity(HttpContext httpContext) +1088
      Microsoft.ContentManagement.Publishing.CmsHttpContext.get_Current() +57

   The Account running the ASPNET_WP worker process is missing the SeImpersonatePrivilege privilege when Windows 2000 SP4 is installed. On member servers this is the ASPNET account or a different account configured in either machine.config or web.config. You need to add the SeImpersonatePriviledge to the account running the ASPNET_WP worker process.
   
   On Windows 2000 domain controllers with .NET Framework 1.1 the default account is not the ASPNET account but the IWAM_<machinename> account.
   
   A solution is provided in the CMS 2002 SP1 Readme file.

2. Known bug in the the PostingObject.Approvers(Boolean) method:

   [COMException (0x80041b58): Server error. Contact the site administrator.]
   Microsoft.ContentManagement.Interop.Publishing.IRcwPosting.get_Approvers(Boolean doExpandUserGroups) +0
   Microsoft.ContentManagement.Publishing.Posting.Approvers(Boolean doExpandUserGroups) +47

   Request MCMS hotfix 828278

3. Known bug in SiteDeployment that can cause a database inconsistancy
   
   [COMException (0x80041b58): Server error.  Contact the site administrator.]
   Microsoft.ContentManagement.Interop.Publishing.IRcwSearches.UserPostingsInPr
   oduction() +0
   Microsoft.ContentManagement.Publishing.Searches.UserPostingsInProduction() +38
   
   [CmsServerException: Server error.  Contact the site administrator.]
   Microsoft.ContentManagement.Publishing.Searches.UserPostingsInProduction() +71
   Microsoft.ContentManagement.WebAuthor.ProductionManager.BindDataGrid() +29
   Microsoft.ContentManagement.WebAuthor.ProductionManager.Page_Load(Object
   sender, EventArgs e) +387
   System.Web.UI.Control.OnLoad(EventArgs e) +67
   System.Web.UI.Control.LoadRecursive() +35
   System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestMain() +750
   
   Request hotfix 843027

4. Known bug in MCMS
   
   [COMException (0x80041b58): Server error. Contact the site administrator.] Microsoft.ContentManagement.Interop.Publishing.IRcwSearches.UserApprovalsPending() +0
   Microsoft.ContentManagement.Publishing.Searches.UserApprovalsPending() +38
   
   [CmsServerException: Server error. Contact the site administrator.] Microsoft.ContentManagement.Publishing.Searches.UserApprovalsPending() +70
   Microsoft.ContentManagement.WebAuthor.ApprovalAssistant.BindDataGrid() +62
   Microsoft.ContentManagement.WebAuthor.ApprovalAssistant.Page_Load(Object sender, EventArgs e) +518 System.Web.UI.Control.OnLoad(EventArgs e) +67
   System.Web.UI.Control.LoadRecursive() +29
   System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestMain() +724
   
   Request hotfix: 843027
   

5. Problem uploading a resource file
   
   [COMException (0x80041b58): Server error. Contact the site administrator.] 
   Microsoft.ContentManagement.Interop.Publishing.CmsApplicationContextClass.AcceptBinaryFile(String filename)
   Microsoft.ContentManagement.Publishing.CmsContext.AcceptBinaryFile(String
   filename)
   
   This usually happens if
   - the file to be uploaded has 0 byte size. MCMS does not support uploading files with 0 byte size
   - the MCMS system account does not have read permissions on the file to be uploaded.
   
   

References

1.0 specific:
315158 - FIX: ASP.NET Does Not Work with the Default ASPNET Account on a Domain

1.1 specific
824308 BUG: IWAM Account Is Not Granted the Impersonate Privilege for ASP.NET

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Topic: DCA log

Where can I find a log of the Database Configuration Application (DCA)?

Answer

The default location for the DCA log is:

<system_drive>:\Program Files\Microsoft Content Management Server\LogFiles

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Topic: Enabling TraceListener Support

When using Connector for SharePoint Technologies I'm having problems synchronizing and/or retrieving my content from my SharePoint Document Libraries. Are there any troubleshooting steps I can take?

Answer

The WssDocumentUpdater tool is a stand-alone command line utility that is included with MCMS 2002 Connector for SharePoint Technologies. With the WssDocumentUpdater tool, you can update the content of the WssPlaceholder objects in the MCMS repository. When  TraceListener support is enabled, Microsoft® Product Support Services (PSS) can more effectively troubleshoot issues with the WSSDocumentUpdater tool.

The WssDocumentUpdater tool provides TraceListener support for errors, warnings, and verbose trace messages. The TraceSwitch class that the WSSDocumentUpdater tool uses is Microsoft.ContentManagement.SharePoint.Updater.


Enable TraceListener support for the WSSDocumentUpdater tool

1. In the directory that contains the WssDocumentUpdater.exe file, create a configuration file that is named WssDocumentUpdater.exe.config.
2. Add the following code to the configuration file:

     <configuration>
       <system.diagnostics>
         <switches>
           <add name="Microsoft.ContentManagement.SharePoint.Updater" value="4" />
           <add name="Microsoft.ContentManagement.RepositoryInterfaces" value="4" />
         </switches>
         <trace autoflush="true" indentsize="4">
           <listeners>
             <add name="myTracingListener"
                      type="System.Diagnostics.TextWriterTraceListener"
                      initializeData="WssDocumentUpdater.log" />
           </listeners>
         </trace>
       </system.diagnostics>
     </configuration>

3. Save the file.
4. Run WssDocumentUpdater.exe. A log file that is named WssDocumentUpdater.log is created in that directory. To change the path and file name, change the initializeData property in the configuration file.

Note You can use this same method of tracing with the WSS Document Library Finder tool that is used with the SharePointPlaceholder server control. To do this, change the Web.config file for the application instead of the WssDocumentUpdater.exe.config file for the application.

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Topic: Error message: "Server Application Unavailable"

When browsing my Web site I receive the following error message:

Server Application Unavailable

The web application you are attempting to access on this web server is currently unavailable. Please hit the "Refresh" button in your web browser to retry your request.

Administrator Note: An error message detailing the cause of this specific request failure can be found in the application event log of the web server. Please review this log entry to discover what caused this error to occur.

The event log do not show any details. What could cause this problem?

Answer

If this is a multi processor or hyper threaded machine, check out the following KB article:

821157 "Server Application Unavailable" error message if a DLL is loaded in the 0x33A20000 address space and you request an ASP.NET page"

To correct this problem please install Microsoft .NET framework 1.1 Service Pack 1 (Windows Server 2003 version, Windows 2000 version)

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Topic: Incompatible placeholder type

Error message:

Server Error in '/Woodgrove' Application.
[HtmlPlaceholderControl "PlaceholderHtmlControl1"] The PlaceholderToBind "HomeMainContent1" was of an incompatible type "Microsoft.ContentManagement.Publishing.Extensions.Placeholders.XmlPlaceholder"


Answer

This error occurs when a placeholder control is bound to the wrong type of placeholder object. For example, a single image placeholder control cannot be bound to a placeholder derived from the XMLPlaceholder object.

 
If you bind placeholders using the dropdown in the Microsoft® Visual Studio® .NET template property window, this should not happen. Only valid placeholder types are shown in the dropdown list. However, it is possible to get this error if you bind placeholders by altering the code directly in the template file.

 
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Topic: Parser error

Error message:

Server Error in '/Woodgrove' Application.
Parser Error
Description: An error occurred during the parsing of a resource required to service this request. Please review the following specific parse error details and modify your source file appropriately. Parser Error Message: Could not load type 'Woodgrove.Global'.

Source Error:
Line 1: <%@ Application Codebehind="Global.asax.cs" Inherits="Woodgrove.Global" %>

Answer
This error commonly occurs when the project has been altered and needs to be rebuilt in Microsoft® Visual Studio® .NET. Typically, a codebehind page has been altered.
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Topic: PlaceholderToBind Not Found

Error message:

Server Error in '/Woodgrove' Application.
[HtmlPlaceholderControl "PlaceholderHtmlControl1"] The PlaceholderToBind "HomeMainContent1" was not found.
Description: An unhandled exception occurred during the execution of the current web request. Please review the stack trace for more information about the error and where it originated in the code.

Answer

This happens when the placeholder object in the ASPX file is bound to a non-existent placeholder in the database. Placeholders associated with a template are stored in the template gallery item (TGI). You can view the collection of placeholders using the Microsoft® Visual Studio® .NET template property window.

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Topic: Template debugging in Microsoft Visual Studio .NET

I tried to debug one of my templates but it does not work. How can I enable this?

Answer

The easiest way to achieve this is to use one of these methods:

Use the 'Debugging Start Page'

1. In the web.config change debug to True.
2. In IIS turn on ASP client and server side debugging for ASP  (Home Directory -> Configuration) 
3. Create an HTML file in your project that has a link to a page using the CMS template that you want to step through  (see example below) 
4. Set the HTML as the start page for the project (right-click the file in VS) - check each project  
5. Set the project properties to turn on ASP.Net debugging 
6. Set the web application project (not the webcontrollibrary - if you have one) as the startup project
7. Start debugging and click the link to the page using the template that you want to debug 
8. Symbols can be added in the solution properties under 'Common Properties' -> 'Debug Symbol Files' 

Example start page:

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" >
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<META NAME="GENERATOR" Content="Microsoft Visual Studio 7.0">
<TITLE>Debugging Start Page for Woodgrove</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<a href="http://localhost/WoodgroveNet/About+Woodgrove/Press+Releases/August+30,+2001.htm">
Navigate to CMS and debug.</a>
</BODY>
</HTML>

Attach directly to the process:

1. Open the project in Visual Studio .NET
2. Set your breakpoints
3. Click "Debug" - "Processes"
4. Select the "aspnet_wp.exe" (IIS5) or "w3wp.exe" (IIS 6) process in the list (if it does not show up, select the "show processes in all sessions" button)
5. Click "Attach..."
6. Ensure that "Common Language Runtime" is selected
7. Click "OK" and "Close"
8. Open a new Internet Explorer instance and browse to your page. Visual Studio .NET will take control when the breakpoint is hit and let you debug your application.
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Topic: Troubleshooting 500 server error

I receive 500 server errors. What could be wrong?

Answer

500 server errors are internal processing errors. Try the following troubleshooting suggestions:

1. Ensure that there is no web.config or global.asax file in the root of your Web site as this can cause such issues.

   Which .NET framework version do you use? If it is 1.1 ensure that

       <pages smartNavigation="false" validateRequest="false" />

   is included in your web.config. If you receive the error using one of your templates check the web.config in your template project. If you receive the error using Site Manager or Authoring Connector, check the web.config in the /MCMS directory.

   If it is .NET framework 1.0 ensure that the 'validateRequest' entry is NOT in the web.config.

2. Check whether there is a global.asax or a web.config in the root of your Web site. If one of these files exists, remove or rename it and test to see if the problem is gone. An error in one of these files can cause these kind of problems.

3. Check the event log for errors. Often an event log entry is written when a 500 error is reported

4. If this is a multiproc machine and/or hyperthreading is enabled and .NET framework 1.1 is installed then the following hotfix is required: 821157.
   Update: this fix is now also included in Microsoft .NET framework 1.1 Service Pack 1 (Windows Server 2003 version, Windows 2000 version)

5. Run a virus scanner as a virus can cause such an errors.

6. If the problem happens in SiteManager try to access the following URL in a browser to see if an error occurs: http://localhost/NR/System/ClientUI/login.asp
   
   If the problem happens during Site Deployment in SiteManager try to access the following URL in a browser to see if an error occurs:  http://localhost/mcms/sitedeployment/cmsxmlstub.aspx

7. If neither of these help, try the request from a machine which is not the MCMS server machine and ensure that

       <customErrors mode="Off" />

   is set in your web.config. See above about how to determine which web.config to use. Now use Network Monitor to take a trace to see the complete error response sent by MCMS.

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Topic: Wrong image version

I find that the wrong versions of images are showing up on my site. What could be happening?

Answer

The issue of the wrong version of images is likely a caching problem. It can be a proxy server issue, or an Internet Explorer caching issue. MCMS will most likely limit the occurrence of this (since it will handle caching resources). But it is, of course, still possible to use files off the file system.

For example, Internet Explorer caches the pages it downloads to avoid downloading the same file again (saving bandwidth). This feature works by comparing the file dates of the locally cached file with that of the file on the server. Any server files older than those of the file in the user's Microsoft Internet Explorer cache, are not downloaded. 

In some cases, the new version of the image was created after the older versions were last modified. When users visited the site, Microsoft Internet Explorer downloaded and cached the the old image because the file was newer. But when you roll back the images to the original, the file date of the original image file was older than the new file. When Microsoft Internet Explorer sent its request to the server, the server checked dates and reported that the old file (that Microsoft Internet Explorer cached) was still newer than the file on the server and Microsoft Internet Explorer did not download the file from the server. 

To resolve this, we modified the dates on the server files so that they were all last modified today. This will force any browsers to download the new files and thus, the correct images will appear.

Even though the files are different, it does not mean they will be downloaded by web browsers; the modified date of the new file must be newer than that of its predecessor.

To check the fix, it should be confirmed on a work machine and a home user's machine (if there is a proxy) without clearing the file cache. File downloads should be monitored using Network Monitor. This is a global fix and should cause every visitor to the site to see the new file without having to clear the cache in their browser.

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