ASP.NET Not Working?

Its not everyday I get to setup a new Web Server, and when I do, there is one step that I seem to forget every time, and ASP.NET (Or any other server side technology) does not work. The Web Service Extensions!

Not to be confused with ASP.NET Web Services, the Web Service Extensions feature (introduced in Windows Server 2003) provides additional layer of security in IIS 6.0. Any Web Server Extension executable (PHP, PERL or even ASP.NET) must be explicitly enabled in this section for IIS to delegate processing to them.

When ASP.NET (or the .NET Framework) is installed on a server, it installs all required files, sets up script mapping in IIS for ASP.NET, adds Default.aspx as one of the Default documents and even adds a X-Powered By ASP.NET Custom Header in IIS. It even adds ASP.NET to the Web Services Extensions Section, but DOES NOT 'Allow' it by default.

So when trying an ASP.NET Website, you get a 404 File not found, and that is confusing! As a matter of fact the first thing that comes to my mind when I see it is that there is some (lack of) permission issue on the folder or files.

Here is a Screen shot of Web Services Extensions in IIS MMC Snap-in

In case ASP.NET is not working on a newly installed server, take a look in the Web Service Extensions section and make sure the correct version of ASP.NET is 'Allowed'.