To avoid a 500 error when accessing the Administration console for the first time when installaing ColdFusion 9 on a Windows 2008 server with IIS 7.5 installed, include the "IIS_IUSRS" user group with "Full Control" to the <CFRoot>\Lib\wsconfig folder in Enterprise server or <CFRoot>\runtime\lib\wsconfig folder in Standard server. Before starting the ColdFusion install, make sure the "IIS 6 Management Compatibility" functions are installed, especially the "IIS 6 Metabase Compatibility" function.
Assuming that you use the default installation paths (C:\JRun4 for Enterprise or C:\ColdFusion9 for Standard), here is a step-by-step approach:
Begin the ColdFusion installer as an Administrator. At the completion of the initial installation process, but before accessing the online Administration console, do the following:
1.) At the Start Menu, select "Computer"
2.) In the Enterprise install, go to C:\JRun4\lib\. For the Standard install, go to C:\ColdFusion9\runtime\lib\.
3.) Right-click "wsconfig" and select "Properties" to open the wsconfig properties dialog box.
4.) Click the "Security" tab.
5.) Click "Edit" to change permissions for that folder.
6.) Click "Add..." to add a new user/group.
7.) Enter "ISS_IUSRS" in the Object name field and click OK to return to the Permissions dialog box.
8.) In the permissions dialog box, ensure that the "IIS_IUSRS" group is highlighted and click "Full Control" in the "Allow" column, then click "OK" to close the dialog box. Ensure that the permissions change will affect all files and folders under wsconfig.
9.) Click "OK" to close the wsconfig properties box.
Return to the ColdFusion installer wizrd and continue the installation by clicking the open ColdFusion Administrator link. If the settings are correct, after a minute or two, a web browser with the ColdFusion Administrator Console should appear so you can complete the installation.
