Hit Counter Doesn't Advance Past 1

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

When you preview a page that contains a hit counter, the hit counter does not advance past the number one. This problem appears if the page that contains the hit counter is hosted on a Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) for Microsoft Windows NT Server.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs if the IUSR_<machine name> account does not have sufficient permissions to read and write to the <Pagename>.htm.cnt file, where <machine name> is the name of the Windows NT server and <Pagename> is the name of the page that contains the hit counter.

NOTE: The <Pagename>.htm.cnt file stores a log of how many times the page was accessed, thus incrementing the hit counter.

RESOLUTION

First Delete <Pagename>.htm.cnt file located in the _Private directory, if that doesn't work, then:

Change the permissions on the <Pagename>.htm.cnt file to read and write for the IUSR_<machine name> account on the Windows NT server. To do this, follow these steps:

1. On the Windows Start menu, point to Programs, and then click Windows NT Explorer.
2. Expand the following folder:

         C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\_private\ 

3. Right-click the Default.htm.cnt file, and then click Properties on the menu that appears.
4. Click the Security tab.
5. Click Permissions. The IUSR_<machine name> should be listed. Double- click it to edit permissions. Click to select the following options:

         Read (R)
         Write (W)
         Delete (D)

   NOTE: If the IUSR_<machine name> account is not listed, you must add it. To do this, click Add, click the IUSR_<machine name> account, and then click OK.

6. Click OK.

NOTES: You must verify that the correct permissions are set for each page that contains a hit counter. By default the <Pagename>.htm.cnt files are located in the _Private folders in each Web.