Application_Start() is not getting fired in Global.asax

Question

This works fine locally, and in our QA servers. However, in one of our client servers, it appears that Application_Start() is not getting fired at all.

My Application_Start() looks like this:

void Application_Start(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    EventLogging.LogEvent("Application_Start() fired in Global.asax.", EventLogging.LogLevel.Basic);
    Application["ApplicationName"] = "My Application Name";
    EventLogging.LogVerbose("Application_Start() - ApplicationName: " + (Application["ApplicationName"] ?? "NA"));
}

In one of my code modules, I check for Application["ApplicationName"], and if it has a value, I start a long-running scheduler thread. The problem is that this Application["ApplicationName"] is never set by Application_Start().

What I have tried so far:

My ASP.NET website is pre-compiled, so I verified that PrecompiledApp.config is in the root directory of my website
I verified that App_global.asax.dll, App_global.asax.compiled and App_global.asax.pdbare present in the bin directory.
I verified that the app pool is running in classic mode
I cleared the temporary ASP.net files

My website's IIS app pool has the following properties:

NET CLR version: v4.0
Enable 32-Bit Applications = true
managed Pipeline Mode = Classic
Start Mode = OnDemand

I am positive that there is some kind of a configuration on this server that is causing Application_Start() to not fire, but I'm not sure what it is.

I have read and tried the suggested methods below, but had no luck so far:

This has been driving me crazy. Please help. Thanks!

Edit: As you requested, here is my entire global.asax:

<%@ Application Language="C#" Inherits="WebFramework.GlobalBase" %>
<%@ Import Namespace="System" %>
<%@ Import Namespace="System.Web" %>
<%@ Import Namespace="System.Web.Http" %>
<%@ Import Namespace="System.Web.Mvc" %>
<%@ Import Namespace="System.Web.Routing" %>
<%@ Import Namespace="System.Reflection" %>

<script runat="server">

    void Application_Start(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        EventLogging.LogEvent("Application_Start() fired in Global.asax.", EventLogging.LogLevel.Basic);
        AreaRegistration.RegisterAllAreas();
        FilterConfig.RegisterGlobalFilters(GlobalFilters.Filters);
        RouteConfig.RegisterRoutes(RouteTable.Routes);

        Application["ApplicationName"] = "My Application";
        EventLogging.LogVerbose("Application_Start() - ApplicationName: " + (Application["ApplicationName"] ?? "NA"));
    }

    void Application_End(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        //  Code that runs on application shutdown
    }

    void Application_Error(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        // Code that runs when an unhandled error occurs
    }

    void Session_Start(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        // Code that runs when a new session is started

    }

    void Session_End(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        // Code that runs when a session ends. 
        // Note: The Session_End event is raised only when the sessionstate mode
        // is set to InProc in the Web.config file. If session mode is set to StateServer 
        // or SQLServer, the event is not raised.

    }

    public override string GetVaryByCustomString(HttpContext context, string custom)
    {
        if (custom.ToLower() == "sessionid")
        {
            return context.Session.SessionID;
        }
        return base.GetVaryByCustomString(context, custom);
    }

</script>

Note: GlobalBase.cs is basically a cs file that does nothing.

@mason Yes, the pages are accessible, but my scheduler thread is never spawned because Application["ApplicationName"] is not set by Application_Start. — Vin Shahrdar, Oct 25 '17 at 20:35
Your logged events never get logged? What about other methods within your global.asax? — mason, Oct 25 '17 at 20:49
If you are not finding anything in the event log, make sure your event log is set up correctly and that it has permission to write. It's possibly failing on the first line silently. — stephen.vakil, Oct 25 '17 at 21:09
@mason Nothing is logged from global.asax in that client server. In our QA server it works fine and we can see the logs. — Vin Shahrdar, Oct 25 '17 at 21:36
@mjwills Yes, we are certain that Application_Start doesn't get fired. It's as if IIS is not able to recognize the pre-compiled global.asax. — Vin Shahrdar, Oct 25 '17 at 21:37
Please update your post to include the entire file that method is contained in. — mjwills, Oct 25 '17 at 21:46
@mjwills I don't know if this helps, but that windows server that has issues has KB3102467 installed for its latest update. Could this be the issue? — Vin Shahrdar, Oct 25 '17 at 22:25
@VinShahrdar can u comment the code inside application_start &build then run to see it's rasing? — Daniel B, Oct 25 '17 at 22:26
@DanielB, I did that. Nothing happens. Application_Start is never called. No errors are warnings are detected in the Event Viewer. — Vin Shahrdar, Oct 25 '17 at 22:53
Inherits="WebFramework.GlobalBase" look for GlobalBase class not file — Daniel B, Oct 28 '17 at 12:55
@DanielB I meant the file that contains the class. The class doesn't have anything interesting. It is just an Init() that initializes some static variables. — Vin Shahrdar, Oct 31 '17 at 14:23

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 03 '17 at 13:49

0

It was a Windows issue! After installing the latest Windows Server 2012 R2 updates, this issue is not happening anymore!

answered Nov 03 '17 at 13:49

Vin Shahrdar

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Application_Start() is not getting fired in Global.asax

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