"File Not Found" error when file exists

[Dylfo]

We get "File not found" on our login file every few weeks. We use Windows 2000
server with MX 6.1 This has been happening for 2 years. Modifying the file
didn't help. The only remedy has been Stop-Start the CF server. Any ideas? Does
this still happen with MX7?

[Aegis Kleais]

Are you getting a HTTP Protocol 404 error or are you getting errors when you
use a FileExists function? Do you have CF's global error template enabled? Do
you have mapping paths or virtual directories that may be redirecting the
actual location of the file?

[Dylfo]

Thanx, we are not getting 404 errors or using file exist function or global
templates. I will confirm re. mapping paths and virtual directories but
believe we are using this. Will update in 12 hours. Only stop-start Cold Fusion
has ever cleared problem but sometimes clears on its own.

[Dylfo]

Update:
Re: your question: "Do you have mapping paths or virtual directories that may
be redirecting the actual location of the file?"

I have checked into this, and there are no virtual directories on IIS for this
file. It is in the root folder of our website, and the file is not found when
the URL is typed into a browser's address bar or linked from an email.
The error is random and intermittent. The file can be accessed without error
for months, and then without any changes to the system, the 'File not Found'
error will suddenly appear and almost always requires a CF 'Stop-Start' to fix.

This is not a standard IIS 404 error -- it is a specific ColdFusion error that
state only: "File not found: /filename.cfm" (and then the usual diagnostics,
etc).
We are not using CF global error template, but I am looking at enabling this.

Thanks very much for your help.

[Dylfo]

Possible Solution:

The issue appeares to be a caching problem, where a temporarily unavailable
page becomes cached and not looked at again later (only the cache copy is used).
1) System clock appears to be 10 hours behind FTP datestamp of uploaded files
(hence uploading a new version didn't clear the cache).
2) ColdFusion Server Setting: Caching Page: "Cache web server paths" was
selected, however there are several websites on the server. This has been
corrected.
If problem continues, I will update with more information.

[science_of_information]

I'm having the same problem. The File is ABSOLUTELY there. Even manually typing
in the file name in the URL has no effect. My server is, at most, 10 minutes
behind, my workstation.

Also, the Cache web server paths is not (and has not) been selected. I am not
sure how to proceed.

[Dylfo]

Hello science_of_information

I was about to answer your question with the solution that we found, which was
to untick "Cache web server paths" in the Administrator. However, you have
done that, so all I can say is that other solutions that I have read have
included removing restricted access to files/folders and sometimes changing
settings between CF and IIS (I Google searched -- a lot of info available from
several different searches). Sorry I can't help further.

For anyone who has not yet unticked "Cache web server paths" in the
Administrator, this was the solution we were looking for but couldn't find on
this forum, so I am posting it now:

We have our site hosted on a shared host computer. The CF Server therefore
serves to several different domains. In the upgrade from CF5 to CF6.0 (and
CF6.1) a switch was set in the Administrator that optimises CF for serving to
only one domain. As soon as this switch was unticked by our administrator, the
problem stopped, never to be seen again.

This was CF Administrator switch:
Server Settings: Caching Page: Cache web server paths <--- This must be
unticked if IIS serves multiple websites

"Select this option to cache ColdFusion page paths for a single server.
Deselect this option if ColdFusion MX connects to a web server with multiple
websites or multiple virtual websites." (Page 19 of cfmx61_config_admin.pdf
manual)

That may just do the trick for some situations.