EPiServer: missing images

So… you just restored the backup of the EPiServer project database, copied the VPP directory and set its new location in the web.config, created a new website in IIS for the .net files, open the browser and everything seems to be fine… except that the images located in the VPP folders do not show.

Navigation is working, login to the admin console too, the paths to VPP folders in web.config are right. The cause for the problem may lie deep inside IIS.

After some time figuring out what may be wrong, we end up with a difference in the configuration for the website created using EPiServer installer and a website created the usual way.

A website in IIS 5 (XP) — created using IISAdmin, because the IIS console in XP does not allow multiple website creation (there are other tools for doing this as well as use adsutil.vbs, Metabase Explorer from the IIS 6.0 Resource Kit Tools or WMI/ADSI, use the one you like the most) — has the following Application Mappings:

The screen is reached inside the:

IIS console -> “Home Directory” tab -> “Configuration” button -> “Mappings” tab

But the mappings for a website created by EPiServer look like:

So the solution is to delete all those default mappings and add just this one:

The full text for “Executable” is:

c:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\aspnet_isapi.dll

And the screenshots for IIS 6:

Not much difference, after that images from the VPP should appear!