Windows Process Activation Service not starting - Error 3

Question

I tried to start the Windows Process Activation Service in services.msc for a new windows2012 server and I was facing the error: "windows process activation service not starting error 3** for almost 3 weeks."

Finally I managed to find solution for this. Hopefully it will work for few others and save their time.

Solution:

1. Open RegEdit
2. And move to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\WAS\Parameters
3. Check the 'ConfigIsolationPath' and make sure the path is present and it has proper rights.

Now open services.msc and try starting the service. It should work.

Answer 1

For me, I didn't have ConfigIsolationPath in my registry, but the Windows Process Activation Service was looking for c:\inetpub\temp\apppools\, which I did not have. Creating this folder got things going again. This article was very helpful in tracking down the problem, "Windows Process Activation Service (WAS) Is Stopping Because It Encountered An Error".