Can't start site in IIS (use by another process)

When I try to start a site in IIS it says:

the process can't access the file because it used by another process

I searched in Google and found that another site may have been using Port 80 but in MyIIS I see that only this site is using Port 80. What else could be using Port 80 or is there another issue involved?

Solution 1:

Check using netstat -aon or netstat -aon | findstr 0.0:80 in a command prompt to see which Process Id is LISTENING to port :80 and then watch for that Process Id (PID) in Task Manager with view->select columns-> process id checked. End that process, restart IIS and you are done. (Note: if you have Skype installed, try exiting that process first.)

In a modern Task Manager, you need to go on the Details tab to search for the PID. Or, as mentioned by @Nikita G in the comments, you can use this command to find the task from your command prompt:

tasklist /FI "PID eq 123"

Note: change 123 with the PID returned from the first command.

Solution 2:

It is happening because a different process is using port 80, it may be a chat application on your PC like Skype.

First, change the default web site port which was 80 to some unused port (e.g. 8087). To achieve this right click the application and then click on 'Edit Binding'.

After this port change restart again. Now you can identify which process is blocking the IIS Port 80. To check this use netstat command which displays the details of port along with the process ID.

Solution 3:

Sign out of Skype and try again. I have experienced the same issue and I just logged out of Skype and then reset my IIS. It worked for me.