Windows/IIS - HTTP Service could not be stopped

Solution 1:

From: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2597817

Consider the following scenario. You are attempting to stop the HTTP service on a server running Internet Information Services (IIS) 6, 7, or 7.5. The server also has the Microsoft Web Deployment Service (MSDEPSVC) installed. When you try to stop the HTTP service using the NET STOP HTTP command line instruction, the following error message is displayed in the command prompt:

The HTTP service is stopping.....
The HTTP service could not be stopped.

If you run the NET STOP HTTP command again, the following message is displayed:

The service is starting or stopping. Please try again later.

See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2597817 for more.

Solution 2:

You could use process explorer by sysinternals to see what files are locking the process. Also, have you checked if your anti-virus is locking it?

Solution 3:

If you happen to have self-hosted web services running, stop them first before running net stop http. That will solve the issue too. This is just one of the symptom for 'The service is starting or stopping. Please try again later.'

In my case the solution explained in MS KB article http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2597817, didn't work. This is because the said service isn't present on my box 'Get-Service : Cannot find any service with service name 'MsDepSvc'.'