Movable Type Knowledge Base: 404 on TrackBack URLs with IIS

Question

If I ping a default url for a TrackBack entry, such as this:

http://www.example.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/7

I get a 404 error (viewed from a browser).

If I change this to:

http://www.example.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi?tb_id=7

everything works fine and the ping is received.

Answer

If you're on an IIS server, it doesn't support these URLs unless set up correctly to do so. Refer this information to your host to resolve this issue:

In ISM, open the properties for the site or directory containing the Movable Type CGI files.
Click on the "Home Directory" tab. Toward the bottom, there's info on the application--if none is defined, create one.
Click the "Configure" button for the application.
On the tab with the script extensions / handlers, look for ".cgi" and choose "Edit."
Make sure the checkbox labeled something like "verify file exists" is NOT checked.
Apply the changes, press OK, etc.

Please note that these instructions are provided as general information only. Support staff is unable to provide detailed assistance with server configuration issues.

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