If you have recently upgraded your Windows to 25H2 or Build 262x0.xxxx,and discover that your IIS Manager has no icons whatsoever in it. Whether this is a new install or upgrade to 25H2, beware that the IIS server configuration file isn't correctly filled out.
Root Cause
The Windows update corrupted the administration.config file by failing to replace token placeholders with actual values. Specifically, %WINDOWS_PUBLIC_KEY_TOKEN% tokens were left unreplaced instead of being converted to the correct value 31bf3856ad364e35.
Solution
Step 1: Create a Backup
Before making any changes, create a backup of the configuration file:
1. Navigate to: C:\Windows\System32\inetsrv\config\
2. Copy administration.config to a safe location (e.g., Desktop)
Step 2: Edit the Configuration File
1. Open Notepad as Administrator:
- Right-click on Notepad
- Select "Run as administrator"
2. Open the configuration file:
- In Notepad, go to File → Open
- Navigate to: C:\Windows\System32\inetsrv\config\administration.config
- Click Open
3. Find and Replace the token:
- Press Ctrl + H to open Find and Replace dialog
- Find what: %WINDOWS_PUBLIC_KEY_TOKEN%
- Replace with: 31bf3856ad364e35
- Click "Replace All"
- You should see multiple replacements made
4. Save the file:
- Press Ctrl + S to save
- Close Notepad
Step 3: Restart IIS Services
1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator:
- Press Windows + X
- Select "Windows Terminal (Admin)" or "Command Prompt (Admin)"
2. Reset IIS:
> iisreset
Alternative method - Restart services manually:
- Open Services ( services.msc ) using cmd.
-
Restart these services in order:
1. Windows Process Activation Service (WAS)
2. World Wide Web Publishing Service (W3SVC)
Step 4: Verify the Fix
1. Close IIS Manager completely (if it was open)
2. Reopen IIS Manager:
- Press Windows + R
- Type inetmgr
- Press Enter
3. Verify all features are visible:
- Sites node should be present
- Application Pools should be visible
- All IIS features should appear in the main panel
