Title: Multisite 404 & IIS Screen
Last modified: April 11, 2019

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# Multisite 404 & IIS Screen

 *  [vintagegroup](https://wordpress.org/support/users/vintagegroup/)
 * (@vintagegroup)
 * [7 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/multisite-404-iis-screen/)
 * So …
 * I am running Windows 2012 R2, IIS7, MySQL 5.7 – got multiple WP sites running
   all without issue.
 * Installed WP 5.1.1 completely clean and got this clean wordpress up and running
   no probs.
 * Added this line to WP-CONFIG
 *     ```
       /* Multisite */
       define('WP_ALLOW_MULTISITE', true);
       ```
   
 * All good – was able to set up MultiSite opted for subdomain.
 * Added Wildcard DNS into Zone file for the domain set the IP in the wildcard tot
   the same IP as the domain (parent). All fine so far …
 * Added the following to WP-CONFIG
 *     ```
       define('MULTISITE', true);
       define('SUBDOMAIN_INSTALL', false);
       define('DOMAIN_CURRENT_SITE', 'www.mortgageslocal.co.uk');
       define('PATH_CURRENT_SITE', '/');
       define('SITE_ID_CURRENT_SITE', 1);
       define('BLOG_ID_CURRENT_SITE', 1);
       ```
   
 * and added the following to web.config
 *     ```
       <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
       <configuration>
           <system.webServer>
               <rewrite>
                   <rules>
                       <rule name="WordPress Rule 1" stopProcessing="true">
                           <match url="^index\.php$" ignoreCase="false" />
                           <action type="None" />
                       </rule>
                       <rule name="WordPress Rule 2" stopProcessing="true">
                           <match url="^wp-admin$" ignoreCase="false" />
                           <action type="Redirect" url="wp-admin/" redirectType="Permanent" />
                       </rule>
                       <rule name="WordPress Rule 3" stopProcessing="true">
                           <match url="^" ignoreCase="false" />
                           <conditions logicalGrouping="MatchAny">
                               <add input="{REQUEST_FILENAME}" matchType="IsFile" ignoreCase="false" />
                               <add input="{REQUEST_FILENAME}" matchType="IsDirectory" ignoreCase="false" />
                           </conditions>
                           <action type="None" />
                       </rule>
                       <rule name="WordPress Rule 4" stopProcessing="true">
                       <match url="^([_0-9a-zA-Z-]+/)?(wp-(content|admin|includes).*)" ignoreCase="false" />
                       <action type="Rewrite" url="{R:2}" />
                   </rule>
                   <rule name="WordPress Rule 5" stopProcessing="true">
                       <match url="^([_0-9a-zA-Z-]+/)?([_0-9a-zA-Z-]+/)?(.*\.php)$" ignoreCase="false" />
                       <action type="Rewrite" url="{R:3}" />
                   </rule>
                       <rule name="WordPress Rule 6" stopProcessing="true">
                           <match url="." ignoreCase="false" />
                           <action type="Rewrite" url="index.php" />
                       </rule>
                   </rules>
               </rewrite>
           </system.webServer>
       </configuration>
       ```
   
 * Logged in to the new ‘network enabled’ site and created a new network site with
   the subdomain ‘testing’ so url would be
 * _[ redundant link removed ]_
 * All created correctly and the new subset is now appearing.
 * However …
 * When I click VISIT on the new subsite – it takes me to an IIS Holding Screen (
   you know the default blue one provided for localhost on WinServers).
 * If click on DASHBOARD for the new subsite I get a 404 Not Found Error.
 * I’ve spent the last 4 hours reading and trying different things. I’ve even scratched
   the whole installation and the database and started all over again and I get 
   the same issue every time.
 * Everything working, its creating the subsite – but it won’t load it (IIS Blue
   Screen) and it won’t go to the dashboard for that site (404 Error)
 * I can get to the NETWORK dashboard and I can get to the PRIMARY SITE dashboard
   no issues – I can create posts on the PRIMARY SITE etc – but its just the subsites.
 * Please help – its driving me nuts!
 * The page I need help with: _[[log in](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fwordpress.org%2Fsupport%2Ftopic%2Fmultisite-404-iis-screen%2F%3Foutput_format%3Dmd&locale=en_US)
   to see the link]_

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

 *  Thread Starter [vintagegroup](https://wordpress.org/support/users/vintagegroup/)
 * (@vintagegroup)
 * [7 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/multisite-404-iis-screen/#post-11415986)
 * UPDATE …
 * If change this line in WP-CONFIG
 * `define('SUBDOMAIN_INSTALL', true);`
 * to
 * `define('SUBDOMAIN_INSTALL', false);`
 * It works! it creates sites and I can go to them and get to the admin dashboard.
 * So it appears its an issue with resolving the subdomain.
 * My DNS file for the domain has a wildcard (A) record as required.
 * `* A 7x.x8.xx.1xx`
 * (I hid the IP with xxx on purpose for obvious – but the IP is correct.
 * So I added a subdomain in the host file called ‘subtest.mortgageslocal.co.uk’–
   then I created this as a site in IIS and added a simple test html file in that
   directory.
 * Et Voila! it resolves.
 * [http://subtest](http://subtest).
 * So, there is nothing wrong with my DNS entries it would appear, also IIS working
   correctly. I have checked and double checked that my entries in WP-CONFIG and
   WEB.CONFIG (remember its a winsrvr so doesn’t use .htaccess) and all of these
   are correct.
 * Wordpress is creating subsites on directories and these are working fine and 
   its creating subdomain based network sites but i can’t get to the dahsboard or
   the site – all I get is the LOCALHOST IIS screen like the network site here.
 * networksite.
 * Please somebody – help! or at least tell what the hell I am doing wrong.
 *  Thread Starter [vintagegroup](https://wordpress.org/support/users/vintagegroup/)
 * (@vintagegroup)
 * [7 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/multisite-404-iis-screen/#post-11416022)
 * AHA! … now this is interesting … and might be the cause …
 * When I go into the settings for the subdomain site I have created – it has no
   THEME applied to it. The master site is using TWENTYNINETEEN.
 * I cannot see anywhere if I should be adding a theme to the new network site?
 * But that in itself wouldn’t explain why the dashboard isn’t showing.
 * Thoughts?
 *  Thread Starter [vintagegroup](https://wordpress.org/support/users/vintagegroup/)
 * (@vintagegroup)
 * [7 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/multisite-404-iis-screen/#post-11416343)
 * Slowly but surely I am unravelling this …
 * So – I just added a BINDING in IIS for the subdomain
 * testhis.
 * and HEY PRESTO! – it worked – I can now get to the subdomain site and its dashboard.
 * So it appears that there is no other way on a windows server to get this to work
   other than create a binding in IIS – so my question is why isn’t the site creation
   process creating the binding on my server?
 * Surely everyone who is using Multisite in a WinSrvr / IIS environment cant be
   having this issue?
 * Suggestions please as to how I can create subdomain network sites without having
   to add IIS bindings.
    -  This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by [vintagegroup](https://wordpress.org/support/users/vintagegroup/).

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

The topic ‘Multisite 404 & IIS Screen’ is closed to new replies.

## Tags

 * [multisite](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/multisite/)
 * [network](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/network/)

 * In: [Networking WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/multisite/)
 * 3 replies
 * 1 participant
 * Last reply from: [vintagegroup](https://wordpress.org/support/users/vintagegroup/)
 * Last activity: [7 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/multisite-404-iis-screen/#post-11416343)
 * Status: not resolved

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