Application pools are crashing on Plesk for Windows Server: The Module DLL

Started by Suhitha, Sep 22, 2025, 07:43 AM

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Suhitha

Question: Application pools are crashing on Plesk for Windows Server: The Module DLL C:\path\to\module_name.dll failed to load. The data is the error.


Applicable to:

  • Plesk for Windows



Symptoms

  • Plesk and websites are unavailable with the following error message in a web-browser:
503 Service unavailable.
  • Application pools are stopped in IIS Manager > Application pools.

  • After restarting an application pool of the website and accessing this website, the application pool crashes.
  • The following error message is logged in Windows Event Viewer > Windows Logs > Application:

The Module DLL C:\path\to\module_name.dll failed to load. The data is the error.


Cause

The module defined in IIS configuration is improperly configured.


Resolution

1.Connect to the Plesk server via RDP.

2.Start a Command Prompt as an Administrator.

3.Create a backup of IIS configuration:

c:\> %windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe add backup BeforeEditBackup

[b]Note:[/b] The backup will be created in C:\Windows\System32\inetsrv\backup.
4.Start Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager at Windows Start > All Programs > Administrative Tools.

5.In IIS Manager, click on SERVERNAME > Modules and remove the faulty module reported in the error message.

Note: In case the module is not visible on the modules page, move to step 6.

6.Open the file %windir%\system32\inetsrv\config\ApplicationHost.config in a text editor and remove the lines related to the faulty module (if exist).
For example:

<add name="CSPms" image="C:\Inetpub\CSPGateway\CSPms.dll" />
7.Save the changes.

8.Restart IIS:

c:\> iisreset