Could not start IIS Admin service. Event 7024

Question

Hi, I am having an issue accessing my exchange admin center (exchange 2016) via web browser, HTTP 500 internal error. upon checking the services, I found that IIS Admin was unable to start and was showing this error message

By checking event logs.

Thanks to anyone who can provide any assistance.

Answer 1

Hi @Joel Rodriguez ,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A platform!

Based on your description, you are having issues using the Exchange Admin Center. HTTP 500 Internal errors can be frustrating. Here are a few steps you can try to resolve this issue:

1. Make sure IIS is configured correctly and all necessary components are installed and running.
2. Sometimes this issue can occur if the arbitration mailbox is unhealthy. You can check its status using the following PowerShell command:

Get-Mailbox -Arbitration

If any arbitration mailboxes are missing or unhealthy, you may need to recreate them.

3. Recreating the virtual directories for ECP and OWA can sometimes resolve this issue. You can do this using the following commands:

Remove-EcpVirtualDirectory -Identity "ServerName\ecp (Default Web Site)"
New-EcpVirtualDirectory -Server "ServerName" -InternalUrl "https://ServerName/ecp" -ExternalUrl "https://ServerName/ecp"
Remove-OwaVirtualDirectory -Identity "ServerName\owa (Default Web Site)"
New-OwaVirtualDirectory -Server "ServerName" -InternalUrl "https://ServerName/owa" -ExternalUrl "https://ServerName/owa"

4. Make sure your server has enough resources (CPU, memory, etc.) allocated to handle the load. Insufficient resources may cause services to fail.

---

Please feel free to contact me for any updates. And if this helps, don't forget to mark it as an answer.

Best,

Jake Zhang

Answer 2

Hi @Joel Rodriguez,

Based on your description, I managed to find several solutions.

The IIS Admin Service is a legacy component used by some older services, including parts of Exchange 2016. The error you're seeing—"Object already exists"—typically points to a problem with the machine’s cryptographic services, particularly with the MachineKeys folder, which stores private keys used by services like IIS and Exchange.

This issue can prevent IIS from initializing properly, which in turn causes the HTTP 500 error when accessing Exchange Admin Center.

Here are some steps to resolve the IIS Admin Service Startup Issue:

1. Check for improper permissions on the MachineKeys folder because it can cause this error.
   1. Navigate to: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Crypto\RSA\MachineKeys
   2. Ensure the follow permissions are set:
      1. SYSTEM: Full Control
      2. Administrators: Full Control
      3. Everyone: Read (optional but sometimes needed)
      4. IIS_IUSRS: Read (If used by your setup)
2. Sometimes restarting the Cryptographic Services using CLI can help:

      net stop cryptsvc
      net start cryptsvc
   

3. If a key already exists but is corrupted or duplicated, it can cause this issue. You may need to identify and remove problematic keys, but this should be done with caution. If you're unsure, it's best to escalate this to your internal IT or Microsoft support for deeper analysis.

You can check these out when you have the time:
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/iis-support-blog/windows-could-not-start-the-iis-admin-service-on-local-computer--error-code--214/360223

https://port135.com/service-specific-error-code-2146893818-event-7024-invalid-signature/ (Different error code but you could still use some of the steps to troubleshoot)

Hope this helps!