Hi Soldiers,

I found a few threads about installation errors which look very similair to my DNN 330/333 installation error. None of these threads ends in some kind of solution so i guess it i still an issue. I have a full instruction of how i did my installation. I hope that this will assist in finding a solution for the installation faillure of DNN330/333.

Provider Configuration:

My domain sits in a shared Windows2003 hosting environment which i only can control through a Plesk 5.6.5 controlpanel. Within Plesk i can create SQLServer 2000 databases, create (sub)domains for .NET framework v1.1/v2.0. For this installation i use .NET v1.1.

Prepare for DotNetNuke330  Installation with Plesk:

1.      Within Plesk Create a DNN330 subdomain in Plesk (or skip this if you already have a subdomain or just use your maindomain. In my case subdomains are created by Plesk in a folder called “subdomains\mydomain\httpdocs”.).

2.      Within Plesk Modify the DNS record for this subdomain with the right Server IP address The provider knows the right Server IP address (skip this if you already have a subdomain or just use your maindomain).

3.      Ask provider for setting permissions on the root folder of the DNN330 installation (Within Plesk the next permissions are set on the root folder and subfolders for NETWORK SERVICES account: readcontrol, writecontrol, execute control, traverse folder/execute file, list folder/read data, create files/write data, create folders/append data and delete).

4.      Upload DNN330 installation package to your subdomain with an FTP application if this is the first time (In my case these are clean installations so no upgrade).

5.      Within Plesk Create a SQL Database and Create Database user.

6.      Within a FTP application connected to your subdomain root Modify or only check web.config and if changed upload it to the root of your DNN installation.

a.      Change “SiteSqlServer” appSetting key with data from step 5 (“Server=  ;Database=DbNameFromStep5  ;uid=UserNameFromStep5;pwd=PasswordFromStep5”)

b.      Remove “Installation Date” appSettings key (created during DNN installation)

c.      Save and upload web.config

7.      Verify changes by editing the remote web.config via an FTP application (I use several installations so an error is lurking arround the corner if i do not verify my changes)

DotNetNuke 330 Installation First Run:

1.      Navigate to http://mysubdomain

2.      When the browser is finished (takes a couple of seconds). The address is changed into http://mysubdomain/Install/Install.aspx?mode=Install. And the the following error is displayed:

DotNetNuke Configuration Error

Could not find a part of the path "E:\web\mysubdomain\subdomains\dnn330-11\httpdocs\Config\Backup_20067281431\web_.config".

DotNetNuke has extensive file upload capabilities for content, modules, and skins. These features require custom security settings so that the application is able to create and remove files in your website.

Using Windows Explorer, browse to the root folder of the website ( C:\DotNetNuke by default ). Right-click the folder and select Sharing and Security from the popup menu ( please note that if you are using Windows XP you may need to Enable Simple File Sharing before these options are displayed ). Select the Security tab. Add the appropriate User Account and set the Permissions.

If using Windows 2000 - IIS5
- the {Server}\ASPNET User Account must have Read, Write, and Change Control of the virtual root of your website

If using Windows 2003 - IIS6
- the NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE User Account must have Read, Write, and Change Control of the virtual root of your website

3.      As far as i can see i did what is suggested in the error report. Then there is always the brute force method

DotNetNuke 330 Installation Second Run:

1.      Refresh the browser and  http://mysubdomain/Install/Install.aspx?mode=Install will run for the second time.

2.      After a 5-10 seconds the installation progress displays the following

Installing DotNetNuke

Version: 03.03.00

Installation Status Report

00: - Installing Version: 3.1.0
00: - Installing Script: DotNetNuke.SetUp.SqlDataProvider
00:00:00.078 - Installing Script: DotNetNuke.Schema.SqlDataProvider
00:00:13.859 - Installing Script: DotNetNuke.Data.SqlDataProvider
00:00:31.546 - Installing MemberRole Provider:
00:00:31.546 - Executing InstallCommon.sql
00:00:32.781 - Executing InstallMembership.sql
00:00:34.687 - Executing InstallProfile.sql
00:00:35.140 - Executing InstallRoles.sql
00:00:36.718 - Upgrading to Version: 3.1.1
00:00:40.921 - Upgrading to Version: 3.2.0
00:00:41.953 - Upgrading to Version: 3.2.1
00:00:42.078 - Upgrading to Version: 3.2.2
00:00:42.125 - Upgrading to Version: 3.2.3
00:00:46.468 - Upgrading to Version: 3.2.4
00:00:46.531 - Upgrading to Version: 3.2.5
00:00:46.593 - Upgrading to Version: 3.2.6
00:00:46.703 - Upgrading to Version: 3.2.7
00:00:46.718 - Upgrading to Version: 3.3.0
00:00:46.781 - Performing General Upgrades
00:00:48.140 - Loading Host Settings:
00:00:48.500 - Configuring SuperUser:
00:00:48.890 - Installing Desktop Modules:
00:00:48.890 - Installing Modules:
00:00:48.906 - Executing Additional Scripts:
00:00:48.906 -   Creating Portal: My Website
00:00:49.375 -   Error: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
00:00:49.375 -   Portal failed to install:
00:00:49.375 - Installing Optional Resources:

Installation Complete

Click Here To Access Your Portal

Accessing the DotNetNuke 330 Portal the first time after installation:

1.      After klicking on “Click Here To Access Your Portal” from the installation results page the next error is displayed (In a success scenario the DNN portal would show up instead).

The address shows: http://mysubdomain/Default.aspx

Server Error in '/' Application.

Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

Description: An unhandled exception occurred during the execution of the current web request. Please review the stack trace for more information about the error and where it originated in the code.

Exception Details: System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

Source Error:

Stack Trace:

[NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.]

   DotNetNuke.Entities.Portals.PortalSettings.GetPortalSettings(Int32 TabId, PortalAliasInfo objPortalAliasInfo) +113

   DotNetNuke.Entities.Portals.PortalSettings..ctor(Int32 tabId, PortalAliasInfo objPortalAliasInfo) +92

   DotNetNuke.HttpModules.UrlRewriteModule.OnBeginRequest(Object s, EventArgs e) +3834

   System.Web.SyncEventExecutionStep.System.Web.HttpApplication+IExecutionStep.Execute() +60

   System.Web.HttpApplication.ExecuteStep(IExecutionStep step, Boolean& completedSynchronously) +87

Version Information: Microsoft .NET Framework Version:1.1.4322.2300; ASP.NET Version:1.1.4322.2300

Analyzing EventLog:

1.      Because i did the second run as far as i can see all the tables were created in de database (During the first run only a few tables were created for version checking). A look into the EventLog table gave me the following information:

There were 2 records. The first was just the start of the application event, the second record showed this:

LogTypeKey=GENERAL_EXCEPTION

LogConfigID=4

LogProperties=

<ArrayOfAnyType xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">

<anyType xsi:type="LogDetailInfo"><name>AssemblyVersion</name><value>03.03.00</value></anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="LogDetailInfo"><name>Method</name><value>N/A - Reflection Permission required</value></anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="LogDetailInfo"><name>FileName</name></anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="LogDetailInfo"><name>FileLineNumber</name><value>0</value></anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="LogDetailInfo"><name>FileColumnNumber</name><value>0</value></anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="LogDetailInfo"><name>PortalID</name><value>-1</value></anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="LogDetailInfo"><name>PortalName</name><value /></anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="LogDetailInfo"><name>UserID</name><value>-1</value></anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="LogDetailInfo"><name>UserName</name><value /></anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="LogDetailInfo"><name>ActiveTabID</name><value>-1</value></anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="LogDetailInfo"><name>ActiveTabName</name><value /></anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="LogDetailInfo"><name>AbsoluteURL</name><value>/Default.aspx</value></anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="LogDetailInfo"><name>AbsoluteURLReferrer</name><value>http://dnn330-11.mydomain.nl/Install/Install.aspx?mode=Install</value></anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="LogDetailInfo"><name>ExceptionGUID</name><value>802a16bd-4bbf-4d51-8e06-a4bd29ce89cf</value></anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="LogDetailInfo"><name>DefaultDataProvider</name><value>DotNetNuke.Data.SqlDataProvider, DotNetNuke.SqlDataProvider</value></anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="LogDetailInfo"><name>InnerException</name><value>Unhandled Error: </value></anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="LogDetailInfo"><name>Message</name><value>System.Exception: Unhandled Error: ---> System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. at DotNetNuke.Entities.Portals.PortalSettings.GetPortalSettings(Int32 TabId, PortalAliasInfo objPortalAliasInfo) at DotNetNuke.Entities.Portals.PortalSettings..ctor(Int32 tabId, PortalAliasInfo objPortalAliasInfo) at DotNetNuke.HttpModules.UrlRewriteModule.OnBeginRequest(Object s, EventArgs e) at System.Web.SyncEventExecutionStep.System.Web.HttpApplication+IExecutionStep.Execute() at System.Web.HttpApplication.ExecuteStep(IExecutionStep step, Boolean& completedSynchronously) --- End of inner exception stack trace ---</value></anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="LogDetailInfo"><name>StackTrace</name></anyType>

<anyType xsi:type="LogDetailInfo"><name>Source</name></anyType>

</ArrayOfAnyType>

2.      Besides this installation problem “The reflection permission required” error has haunted me for a couple of weeks now in other issues which are maybe all related. See another thread started by me:

http://dotnetnuke.com/Community/ForumsDotNetNuke/tabid/795/forumid/118/threadid/55407/scope/posts/Default.aspx

3.      The same problem occurs with an DNN 333 installation (in another subdomain i created just for testing purpose). Both DNN 330 and DNN 333 installations were succesfully executed on my localhost.

4.      An DNN 320 (.NET v1.1) and an DNN 430 (.NET v2.0) installation were succesfully installed on separate subdomains in the same hosting environment (so it's possible to get something to work with this provider). Everything points in the direction of permissions not set, but i can’t point my finger on it yet, because the permissions in Plesk for the NETWORK SERVICE account looks the same (Maybe Plesk hides some crucial information. A dedicated server at this moment is not an option for me.).

Finding help:

Here we are…

Any help on this topic would be appreciated very much.

Later,

Hi Chau Tuan,

Thanks for replying. Indeed the file permissions were not set right. My advice now to others is: "Read the DNN install manual really carefully and make sure that the permissions are set as outlined". The IIS5 ASPNET user account or IIS6 NETWORK SERVICE user account may have different names when in a shared hosting environment.

Now i installed DNN333 and DNN433 succesfull.

Zit.