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Making Windows XP Professional web developer friendly

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8 Oct 20021 min read 85.9K   23   15
Web development on Windows XP Professional is a drag, or it was until I discovered two "fixes"

Introduction

Web development on Windows XP Professional is a drag, or it was until I discovered two "fixes".

First, Microsoft in their kind way (being ironic Bill), implemented the simple file sharing on XP. I wasted a lot of time on this "fix", trying to change permissions on a database (giving the IUSER_xxx user write permission). Enough said.

To get normal access to NTFS permissions, do the following:

In Windows Explorer, open Tools -> Folder options , and un-check Use simple file sharing (see image below)

Another thing that's been nagging me is the inability to host multi-sites on XP. Enter the scene, the ISAPI - MultiSite Filter :-)

MultiSite Filter

The filter is a bit beta, but it works fine (at least for me). You'll find it at http://www.hairy-spider.com/multisite.aspx. To get it up and running do the following:

  1. Edit your HOSTS file (in C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc, where C is the drive you installed XP on)
    # Example
    127.0.0.1       localhost anotherweb thirdweb
  2. Copy the multi.ini (from the multisite download) to your Windows catalog (C:\Windows) and edit it
    ;Example
    [websites]
    anotherweb=C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\anotherweb 
    thirdweb=C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\thirdweb
  3. Finally you have to load the ISAPI filter into IIS at the root level or even the websites level (I run it at website level). If you need help doing this, take a look at HOWTO: Install an ISAPI Filter Dynamic-Link Library

BTW: If you're not getting the pages, flush the browser's cache and restart IIS

You're now running a multi-site web on XP Professional, with normal access to NTFS permissions :-)

License

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Comments and Discussions

 
GeneralIIsAdmin.NET Pin
Per S1-Jun-05 22:03
Per S1-Jun-05 22:03 
GeneralSimple file sharing Pin
Mr Strange Code3-Mar-05 12:51
Mr Strange Code3-Mar-05 12:51 
GeneralUsing Visual Studio .NET to develop multiple web sites Pin
RockChalk23-Oct-03 9:53
RockChalk23-Oct-03 9:53 
Generaldoesn't work for me Pin
Anonymous5-Sep-03 2:05
Anonymous5-Sep-03 2:05 
GeneralRe: doesn't work for me Pin
Anonymous3-Dec-03 16:52
Anonymous3-Dec-03 16:52 
Exactly the same problem. Tried everything you did and more. Windows XP SP 1.
GeneralRe: doesn't work for me Pin
John Steele8-Feb-04 9:13
John Steele8-Feb-04 9:13 
GeneralRe: doesn't work for me Pin
Per Søderlind8-Feb-04 22:34
sussPer Søderlind8-Feb-04 22:34 
GeneralInability to host multi-sites Pin
Christopher Duncan9-Oct-02 5:24
Christopher Duncan9-Oct-02 5:24 
GeneralRe: Inability to host multi-sites Pin
Per S9-Oct-02 6:25
Per S9-Oct-02 6:25 
GeneralVery helpful! Pin
Marc Clifton9-Oct-02 4:57
mvaMarc Clifton9-Oct-02 4:57 
GeneralWebsite on XP Pin
CDotNetUser9-Oct-02 4:34
CDotNetUser9-Oct-02 4:34 
GeneralRe: Website on XP Pin
William Bartholomew14-Oct-02 11:50
William Bartholomew14-Oct-02 11:50 
GeneralRe: Website on XP Pin
CDotNetUser14-Oct-02 13:35
CDotNetUser14-Oct-02 13:35 
GeneralVery nice Pin
Todd Smith9-Oct-02 4:19
Todd Smith9-Oct-02 4:19 
GeneralRe: Very nice Pin
Per S9-Oct-02 4:37
Per S9-Oct-02 4:37 

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