IIS ApplicationHost.config file disappeared from my VM

Question

IIS ApplicationHost.config file disappeared from my VM

Hashvin Rao (MY) 10

Hello team,

Greetings. I would like to check, regarding from the subject I would like to know why my IIS ApplicationHost.config file is missing out of sudden. I tried many possible ways to restore back however it is not working. Whenever I attempted to restore the file, it gives this error:-

User's image

I had tried to restore from C:\inetpub\history\CFGHISTORY_XXXXXXXXXX still can't. I already checked with our Plesk team and they recommended to check with Microsoft team since IIS belongs to them.

I need this issue fix ASAP. What is the solution?

Thanks.

Hashvin Rao (MY) 10 Reputation points

2025-09-05T04:34:45.7766667+00:00

Hello team,

To add, previously i had submitted a report regarding this you could see my previous report here:-

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5537906/iis-applicationhost-config-file-disappeared-from-m?comment=answer-12210143&page=1#comment-2201219

It appears to be am not able to send a dedicated ticket to Microsoft support hence I would like to get a concrete solution for this. I had tried all the solutions provided by @Tom Tran (WICLOUD CORPORATION)

To add, we had boot into safe mode it appears everything fine however when the moment we normal boot into our VM the file still not readable by IIS and the respective file in the config folder still been renamed and can’t change to original fine name.

Please help me on this issue.
Jim Scott 0 Reputation points

2025-09-09T15:50:24.5833333+00:00

I have the same exact issue. applicationHost.config is not showing, can’t restore backup file, can’t rename to it, can create any other file in same folder, seems the file is actually there but can’t see it. If I reboot in safe mode, is shows up and I can make changes in iis manager. Reboot out of safe mode and it no longer finds applicationhost.config. Sites all show up, work fine, just can’t make any changes. Uninstalled IIS, reinstalled. Nothing fixes it.
Kirti Darji 5 Reputation points

2025-11-15T09:56:21.4766667+00:00

I am also facing the same problem and I am not able to uninstall IIS on Windows Server 2019 Standard Edition after the recent Windows update. IIS is running fine, but I cannot find the applicationHost.config file and I am unable to change any site settings. Please look into this and do the needful

2 answers

Your answer

Hashvin Rao (MY) 10 Reputation points

2025-09-05T04:34:45.7766667+00:00

Hello team,

To add, previously i had submitted a report regarding this you could see my previous report here:-

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5537906/iis-applicationhost-config-file-disappeared-from-m?comment=answer-12210143&page=1#comment-2201219

It appears to be am not able to send a dedicated ticket to Microsoft support hence I would like to get a concrete solution for this. I had tried all the solutions provided by @Tom Tran (WICLOUD CORPORATION)

To add, we had boot into safe mode it appears everything fine however when the moment we normal boot into our VM the file still not readable by IIS and the respective file in the config folder still been renamed and can’t change to original fine name.

Please help me on this issue.
Jim Scott 0 Reputation points

2025-09-09T15:50:24.5833333+00:00

I have the same exact issue. applicationHost.config is not showing, can’t restore backup file, can’t rename to it, can create any other file in same folder, seems the file is actually there but can’t see it. If I reboot in safe mode, is shows up and I can make changes in iis manager. Reboot out of safe mode and it no longer finds applicationhost.config. Sites all show up, work fine, just can’t make any changes. Uninstalled IIS, reinstalled. Nothing fixes it.
Kirti Darji 5 Reputation points

2025-11-15T09:56:21.4766667+00:00

I am also facing the same problem and I am not able to uninstall IIS on Windows Server 2019 Standard Edition after the recent Windows update. IIS is running fine, but I cannot find the applicationHost.config file and I am unable to change any site settings. Please look into this and do the needful

Answer 1

Dear Hashvin Rao (MY),

Thank you for reaching out. We understand the urgency of the issue involving the missing ApplicationHost.config file in IIS and the failure to restore it from the CFGHISTORY_XXXXXXXXXX backup folder.

The error you're encountering—typically HRESULT: 0x80070002—suggests that the backup folder may be incomplete or the required configuration files are missing. This can occur due to antivirus quarantine, disk corruption, or a failed update. To resolve this, please verify that the backup folder contains all necessary files: applicationHost.config, administration.config, and redirection.config. If these files are present, try restoring using the following elevated command:

powershell

%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd restore backup <backup-folder-name>

If no valid backup is available, you may need to copy the ApplicationHost.config from a system with a matching IIS version or rebuild the configuration manually using IIS Manager. For future prevention, we recommend enabling automatic configuration history via registry:

powershell

reg add HKLM\Software\Microsoft\InetStp\ConfigurationHistory /v EnableHistory /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

Please let us know if you need assistance validating backups or rebuilding your IIS configuration.

Best regards,

Quinnie Quoc.

Hashvin Rao (MY) 10 Reputation points

2025-09-05T08:43:53.99+00:00

Hello @Quinnie Quoc

Thank you for the update.

I would like to check something before proceeding the given steps. Technically the file is existed right? Because when i boot into safe mode the ApplicationHost.config existed. If i proceed to copy paste the file from other server to here shouldn’t be telling that the file is already existed.

Furthermore, if i manage to copy paste the file from other server in future does it will remove again?

Thank you very much.

Answer 2

Kirti Darji 5

I am also facing the same problem and I am not able to uninstall IIS on Windows Server 2019 Standard Edition after the recent Windows update. IIS is running fine, but I cannot find the applicationHost.config file and I am unable to change any site settings. Please look into this and do the needful

Share via

IIS ApplicationHost.config file disappeared from my VM

2 answers

Your answer