ASP.Net error: "The identity of application pool is invalid"
<p>My ASP.Net web service cannot run because the application pool is unable to start due to the identity crisis it's experiencing.</p>

<p>The user I'm using in the app pool is a domain user, it's a local admin, it's in IIS_WPG, I've given it "act as part of the OS permissions" - nothing. Nada. Fails to start the application pool each time.</p>

<p>Adding the user to IIS_WPG is usually what's missing, but I guess there's something else.</p>

<p>Things I've tried:</p>

<ul>
<li>Adding user to IIS_WPG</li>
<li>Adding user to local admin group and adding the "Act as part of the os" right.</li>
<li>aspnet_regiis -ga </li>
<li>rebooting...</li>
<li>Checked password</li>
<li>Recreated the app pool and assigning only my application to it</li>
</ul>

<p>p.s.
If I use the Network Service user it all works - it's just my "custom" user that's failing. Logging in (interactively) with this user works.</p>

<p><strong>Edit:</strong></p>

<p>The solution is as described in <a href="http://stackoverflow.com/questions/863537/asp-net-error-the-identity-of-application-pool-is-invalid/954650#954650">the accepted answer</a> (adding the "Log on as Service" right to the application pool's identity user).</p>

<p>I'll just add, for future reference, for those encountering the following message when trying to add the "Log on as a service" right to a domain user: </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"This setting is not compatible with
  computers running Windows 2000 Service
  Pack 1 or earlier...."</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Know that <em>this has nothing to do with Windows 2000</em> and it's just the domain's group policy that's preventing you from assigning this right to the user.</p>
