High there. I tried to open a project in Visual Studio only to find that my Team Foundation Server had stopped working. I logged onto the box which is a Windows 2008 Server Standard SP2 running on Virtual Server. First place to check was the event viewer but this returned an error of "MMC could not create the snap in. The snap in might not have been installed correctly". This used to work. I then checked the services and noticed the World Wide Web Publishing Service had stopped working. Attempting to restart the service produced the error "Windows could not start the World Wide Web Publishing Service on Local Computer Error 1068: The dependency service or group failed to start" Checking the dependency services it appeared the Windows Process Activation Service was not running. After attempting to run this I received the error "Windows could not start the Windows Process Activation Service on Local Computer. Error 50: The request is not supported". I have now spent quite a few hours Googling without success. This appears to have occured without obvious cause. That is, I have not changed any settings on this box for a significant length of time. I have checked for auto-updates but nothing appears to jump out at me here. Any sugestions or assistance would be greatly appreciatted. Martyn Fewtrell mfewtrell@networkclub.co.uk Martyn Fewtrell TNC (IT Solutions) Ltd mfewtrell@tncit.co.uk

Have you seen these articles? http://support.microsoft.com/kb/975443 http://www.hanselman.com/blog/FixedWindowsProcessActivationServiceWASIsStoppingBecauseItEncounteredAnError.aspxSanthosh Sivarajan | MCTS, MCSE (W2K3/W2K/NT4), MCSA (W2K3/W2K/MSG), CCNA, Network+ Houston, TX Blogs - http://blogs.sivarajan.com/ Articles - http://www.sivarajan.com/publications.html Twitter: @santhosh_sivara - http://twitter.com/santhosh_sivara This posting is provided AS IS with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Have you restarted the box? Regards, Dave Patrick .... Microsoft Certified Professional -Microsoft MVP [Windows]

Thanks for the reply. Yes I have seen both of those articles. The first describes an issue within Server 2008 and Server 2008 R2 and the description sounds very similar to what I am experiencing. When I went for the hotfix the hotfix download only appear to relate to the R2 version of Windows 2008. I did download the 32 bit version but this reported that it was not applicable to the installation. (As a side note for Microsoft I dont tend to surf the web or complete downloads on my servers so to auto-detect the opperating system im using and to offer me fixes based on the computer im surfing on always seems a bit odd when you are looking for a server fix). The second one is also a close fit and I have checked the "inetpub\temp\apppools"directory which does exist so I assume this not to be the issue. There are a couple of other permision issue for this folder listed on related posts but this doesnt seem to help either. Im think the issue is in the "Windows Process Activation Service" although it is odd that the event log viewer has also stopped working which makes life a little more complex. Martyn Fewtrell mfewtrell@networkclub.co.uk Martyn Fewtrell TNC (IT Solutions) Ltd mfewtrell@tncit.co.uk

Yes I can confirm that I have rebooted several times. Just rebooted again for good measure but with no success - issue still the same. Martyn Fewtrell mfewtrell@networkclub.co.uk Martyn Fewtrell TNC (IT Solutions) Ltd mfewtrell@tncit.co.uk

Can you post the system event log errors since last boot? Regards, Dave Patrick .... Microsoft Certified Professional -Microsoft MVP [Windows]

I'm sure I could but i'm not sure how I get to the event log if the event viewer isnt working? Not sure how the events are stored but assume they are files somewhere in the folder structure? I'll start Googling but if anybody can give me the anwer that would speed things up! (tried using Visual Studio but that wouldnt let me connect) Martyn Fewtrell mfewtrell@networkclub.co.ukMartyn Fewtrell TNC (IT Solutions) Ltd mfewtrell@tncit.co.uk

Have you tried a Safe Mode boot? Regards, Dave Patrick .... Microsoft Certified Professional -Microsoft MVP [Windows]

Good idea but i get the same error with the event viewer and it would appear that the Windows Process Activation Service doesnt run in safe mode or at least that is the new error which i now get! Martyn Fewtrell mfewtrell@networkclub.co.ukMartyn Fewtrell TNC (IT Solutions) Ltd mfewtrell@tncit.co.uk

Hi, Does the server recently get .net framework updates installed on the server? Please check how it works if you repair .net framework installation. IIS 7 > IIS7 - Troubleshooting > IIS7 and WAS failed to start... http://forums.iis.net/p/1167467/1942771.aspx

Thats a great idea as .Net 4 went on at the begining of the month. I have done a repair on .Net 4 but this hasnt resolved the issue. I have to go to a clients now but will take off .Net 4 when I get back later on and maybe repair .Net 3.5 as that ASP.Net security fix shipped last week. Martyn Fewtrell mfewtrell@networkclub.co.ukMartyn Fewtrell TNC (IT Solutions) Ltd mfewtrell@tncit.co.uk

Hi there I have now done a repair on .Net 4 and .Net 3.5 without success. I ahve also removed .Net 4 completely (as this wasnt strickly required) but still no success. Anybody got any other ideas. Martyn Fewtrell mfewtrell@networkclub.co.uk Martyn Fewtrell TNC (IT Solutions) Ltd mfewtrell@tncit.co.uk

Given the seemingly unrelated errors I wonder if the disk or file system may have failed. I'd download and run the disk manufacturer's diagnostic tools. Possibly chkdsk the drive, also test the RAM http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp Lastly. How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 & Windows Server 2008 R2 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2255099 http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc770593(WS.10).aspx#BKMK_Windows_Recovery_Environment_overview Regards, Dave Patrick .... Microsoft Certified Professional -Microsoft MVP [Windows]

I can cerainly check the hardware but as this is a virtual machine and I havnt observed any issues on either the host server or other vm's within the environment this doesnt jump out at me as being an obvious choice. I'll check out the disk checking tools for Virtual Server and se what they tell me. In the mean time what I need to know is what Windows Process Activation Service does and how do you repair it when it fails as this sems to be the root of the issue. Thanks for the sugestion either way. Martyn Fewtrell mfewtrell@networkclub.co.ukMartyn Fewtrell TNC (IT Solutions) Ltd mfewtrell@tncit.co.uk

Was this issue ever resolved? I am having the same problem.

Unfortunatley not. As this was a virtual machine and only had TFS on it I took the line of least resistance and built a new machine, reinstalled TFS and transferred the projects to the new machine. Martyn FewtrellMartyn Fewtrell - TNC (IT Solutions) Ltd

I think I have a solution. I could not uninstall IIS because the server manager MMC would not load. So I uninstalled IIS from the command line using the following command: start /w pkgmgr /uu:IIS-WebServerRole;WAS-WindowsActivationService;WAS-ProcessModel;WAS-NetFxEnvironment;WAS-ConfigurationAPI After a reboot I uninstalled .Net 3.5. I was then able to get into the server manager and re-install IIS and I reinstalled .Net 3.5.