Application Starting Point issues

P

Paul

Hi,
I am not sure if this is the correct group to be posting this to so I
will give it a try.
I have FrontPage 2000 and FrontPage 2002 that I use to modify my web
sites with from two different places. Is there a problem with doing
this or should I stick with only one version? If this is a problem,
what are the issues?

My Web presents provider just upgraded from windows 2000 to windows
2003. I am having so many problems with the site now, I am about to
have a breakdown. Because I use FrontPage, I have sub webs defined.
I have always had a global.asa file inside of one of these sub webs
and it has worked fine, well almost. Since the conversion, I have
been having problem with something called an "Application Starting
Point". I don't know anything about this, could someone explain the
relationship between this and the global.asa file. Do I really need
this sub web to have an application starting point defined? Was this
an issue in windows 2000? How is it different in 2003 verses 2000?

Here is some of the things I am experiencing.

1). I have custom errors define for the domain. After the conversion
they where working fine in the domain but not in the sub web. In the
sub web, I was getting the default errors. After many days of
complaining about this, They created an application starting point and
the problem went away. Kinda!

2). I create an object in global.asa with this line of code:
<Object Runat="Server" Scope="application" ID="dOnlineUsers"
ProgID="Scripting.Dictionary"></Object>
This object is used through out the sub web to track pieces of
information. This object intermittently ceases to exist and no one
can tell me why. The is no code that destroys it. It should persist
as long as the application is active. If I modify the global.asa file
a little bit and save it, the object comes back. Someone at the
support center tried removing the application starting point ant it
stopped working all together. I converted the sub web to a folder and
then back to a sub web and it still did not work. Only creating an
application starting point got it back again. Yet after a while the
object just ceases to exist and everything is in kayos because most of
the pages depend on it. After almost two weeks of working on it, the
support center asked me if I was saying that the code in the
global.asa file was changing on me.

3). I have a control center at my web presents provide that allows me
to change the file permissions in the folders in the web. I don't
fully understand what it is doing, but I am told it is changing the NT
permissions. There is a User called Everyone that can have Read,
Write, Execute and delete permissions assign to it. I have some
folders in the sub web and the domain that have files that are written
to from some asp code. In order for it to work, the permissions have
to be set to include Write or there are permission errors generated.
I also have a folder that I remove all permissions from the Everyone
user so that I am challenged for a user name and password. I went
through the domain and had to set all of these permissions after the
conversion because they where all set to the default of Read, Execute
and nothing was working. I was going through the web pages with a
browser and found that things stopped working again. I checked the
permissions and they had changed. I was not in FrontPage or the
Control Center when this happened. This has happened several times
since the conversion. I have to check them every hour to make sure
the permissions are correct. Most of the times, I change them back
and call support to see why they changed. They see that I changed
them and say that I did it. Today, I was not in FrontPage, nor was I
in the Control center and they changed. I did not change them back
and this time when I called, they could not explain how they got
changed. Latter I got an email with this explanation:
The only way file permissions can be changing is if Front
Page is doing it when you are publishing, you are trying to use 2
different
systems to control access one is the control center which is changing
NT
file permission and the other is FrontPage which uses its own security
but
is also effects NT file permissions.
And I just got finished telling them that I don't use the publish
option and I wasn't in FrontPage or the Control center when It
happened.

I have come to the conclusion that these people are not capable of
solving this problem or they just don't want to or don't care. I also
know That I can't solve it either. So here I am, asking if someone
could please help me unravel this mystery.

Thanks,
Paul Coleman
 
T

Thomas A. Rowe

This would be a Windows 2003 server issue, suggest you post to the
appropriate Windows 2003 server newsgroup, as it would not be something that
you can control or configure with FP.

--

==============================================
Thomas A. Rowe (Microsoft MVP - FrontPage)
WEBMASTER Resources(tm)

FrontPage Resources, Forums, WebCircle,
MS KB Quick Links, etc.
==============================================
 
P

Paul

Hi,
I will do that. I posted here to get some insight from a FrontPage
perspective though. I don't think that a 2000 or 2003 server group
will provide that. Is there any light you can shed on this subject at
all? Is there any issues a FrontPage developer needs to pay attention
to when their web presents provider upgrades the servers? Especially
given the problems I have had, Is there anything I can do from the
FrontPage side of this problem.
Thanks,
Paul
 
T

Thomas A. Rowe

Based on the issue you indicated, this is a server issue. The big issue is
that Windows 2003 ships with tight security settings, items that once were
running or open by default in Windows 2000, are now disabled, etc. must be
enabled as need by the admin. of the server.

--

==============================================
Thomas A. Rowe (Microsoft MVP - FrontPage)
WEBMASTER Resources(tm)

FrontPage Resources, Forums, WebCircle,
MS KB Quick Links, etc.
==============================================
 
P

Paul

Hi,
That is interesting, I am being told that most of my problems stem
from FrontPage and not behaving well in a sense. What I can see is
that it is a complex relationship between FrontPage and the server and
that I can't find anyone that seems able or willing to help me
with.Thanks,
Paul Coleman
 
T

Thomas A. Rowe

Paul,

I have not yet upgraded my Windows 2000 Server to Windows 2003 Server, so I
can not offer any additional info regarding how it and FP interact.

--

==============================================
Thomas A. Rowe (Microsoft MVP - FrontPage)
WEBMASTER Resources(tm)

FrontPage Resources, Forums, WebCircle,
MS KB Quick Links, etc.
==============================================
 
P

Paul

Hi,
Do you know anything about the relationship between a FrontPage sub
web and an Application Starting Point? I would be interested in
anything you know about this, even just on server 2000.
I am looking for info like, Is an Application Starting Point created
when I create a sub web? What does converting a sub web to a folder
and back to a sub web do, if anything, with an Application Starting
Point?
If you can provide any info on any possible changes between these two
things from 2000 to 2003, it would be helpful. I can't find anything
on the MS web about this relationship, yet my problems seem to be
related to it.
Thanks,
Paul Coleman
 
T

Thomas A. Rowe

Not sure ... but could the application starting point be the same as
application root, in previous version of Windows 2000 server?

If so, you should be able to re-create it under IIS MMC.

--

==============================================
Thomas A. Rowe (Microsoft MVP - FrontPage)
WEBMASTER Resources(tm)

FrontPage Resources, Forums, WebCircle,
MS KB Quick Links, etc.
==============================================
 
P

Paul

Hi,
I do not own the server, I am at the mercy of a WPP, so the IIS MMC
doesn't help me much. Is the application starting point a part of
..net? All of my FrontPage webs and sub webs use ASP. Is there
something I need to be concerned with on a server that is .NET enabled
and I am using ASP in a site managed by FrontPage? I use FrontPage to
edit my ASP pages. Is there a conflict between the way the 2003
server is managing the .NET application starting point (if it is a
..NET thing) and the way FrontPage in managing the application root?
My site has been broken ever since they converted the server to 2003.
In order to get much of the code to work, they had to manually define
an application starting point. I suspect that FrontPage is supposed to
handle this and that needing the application starting point to get the
code to work is indicative of a larger problem. I need to understand
enough about this in order to prove or disprove what I suspect. I know
that ASP is not a FrontPage topic, but I think what is broken is some
interaction between FrontPage and the 2003 server. Please help me
figure out what is going on here.

Paul Coleman
 
T

Thomas A. Rowe

Basically Windows 2003 server is installed with any security related
functions, services, etc. disabled, that were previously enabled under
Windows 2000 server, must now be enabled.

Suggest you post to the Windows 2003 Server newsgroup and the .Net
newsgroup.

--

==============================================
Thomas A. Rowe (Microsoft MVP - FrontPage)
WEBMASTER Resources(tm)

FrontPage Resources, Forums, WebCircle,
MS KB Quick Links, etc.
==============================================
 

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