If you are installing the Character Server on Windows Server 2003 (IIS 6), then you will need to enable CGI Extensions in order to run the Character Server. Similarly, on Windows Vista / Windows Server 2008 (IIS 7), you will need to configure the ISAPI and CGI Restrictions feature.

Case 1. Windows Server 2003 (IIS 6)

Right click My Computer, select Manage, then navigate to Services and Applications, Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager, Web Services Extensions.

Option 1 (simpler, for a test enviroment)

Select All Unknown CGI Extensions, then press the Allow button.

Option 2 (safer, for a deployed environment)

Click Add a new Web service extension. For the Extension name, enter cs.exe. Press the Add button, then use the Browse button to browse to the cs.exe file, or enter the path "C:\Program Files\Character Server\CS\cs.exe". Press OK to the Add file dialog. Then make sure Set extension to Allowed is checked.

When complete, the window should look like this, shown here with Option 2:

Case 2. Windows Vista / Windows Server 2008 (IIS 7)

Right click My Computer, select Manage. On Vista, navigate to Services and Applications, Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager. On Windows Server 2008, use Roles > Web Server (IIS), Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager. In the Connections pane, select your server.

In the Features View, double-click on the ISAPI and CGI Restrictions applet.

Option 1 (simpler, for a test enviroment)

Click the Edit Feature Settings... action. Ensure Allow unspecified CGI modules is checked.

Option 2 (safer, for a deployed environment)

Click the Add... action. Fill in the Add ISAPI or CGI Restriction dialog as follows, then press OK: