Cannot Delete Application Pool

Question

I am trying to tidy up an IIS server. I have removed some test/uat virtual directories however I am not able to remove the application pools. I get the following error message.

Any hints on how I go about resolving this?

Answer 1

If you open the Application Pool "tree" you should see which applications are associated to that pool. Of course, if all your application use the "Standard Application" name, this information has no value. So, when I create new applications, I always give them a meaningful name.

Second tip: you could give IIS Metabase Analyzer a try:

As the name implies, the application looks at IIS Metabase information to determine which IIS Web applications are running under which IIS Web sites. Additionally, it determines which Application Pools those websites and web applications are running under. When a version conflict is detected, IIS Metabase Analyzer alerts you to it and then it's up to you to fix the issue with the IIS Management tools.

Answer 2

Try creating a dummy directory with the same name and location as the virtual directory. Open IIS manager. Your directory should show up as a virtual directory. Now delete it from IIS manager...and voila...your app pool would be empty. You can now delete the app pool

Answer 3

Unfortuatnely there is not an easy way that I know of to list what applications belong to which application pool, you will have to go through each site and check all the applications to see what pool they are in and re-assign if necessary.