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I have WordPress installs in my IIS localhost server on Win7 desktop done manually and with WebPI install.Both installs are under IIS default website.

Either asks for FTP credentials when I try to auto update to the latest WP version. I have FTP server enabled on IIS (users IUSR and Richard).

I have checked that read write permissions are enabled on the wordpress root & wp-content folders.
I try putting in the credential values but keep getting no response or

ERROR: There was an error connecting to the server, Please verify the settings are correct.

Credentials asked for are Hostname/FTP user/FTP password and I have tried all manner of credentials I think might be correct but obviously are not. (eg ftp://localhost- IUSR -site password etc etc). I am most unsure about the FTP password.

I have asked for help with this on WordPress forum, WordPress codex, IIS7 forum, googled & tweeted for help to fix this and found no answer! There are several threads about the issue but most say the fix is to enable read write folder permissions and there is something about using web.config file and also editing wp-config.php. I do not really want to edit wp-config.php. What I really want is to enter the correct ftp credentials for WordPress on IIS and have it work and autoupdate to the latest version.

Does anyone know what ftp credentials I have to use to get this done please? Has any WordPress IIS localhost user experienced this and dealt successfully with this ftp autoupdate?

Edit 10/10/12 >> Hi mauri- many thanks for your very helpful reply. I followed your instruction on my WordPress blog that MS WebPlatformInstaller(WPI) installed for me and (ta da!) it worked as you said-ie it autoupdated to the latest WP version without asking for the ftp credentials. My only issue is I'm not sure what this is or what I really did apart from following your instruction! I would like to understand all this 'jiggery-pokery'! I add Authenticated users & gave them full permission. I would also really like to fully understand my localhost IIS server...I would also like to know how to set my IIS up so when asked for the ftp credentials I can put in the info & have it work that way too! However very many thanks for your very helpful reply

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  • 1
    I have updated my answer.. glad that help you... Remember to mark it as accepted answer clicking on the left arrow..
    – 웃mauri
    Oct 11, 2012 at 2:33
  • Thank you for the clarification on IIS Permissions for my WordPress site. In my circumstance, WordPress on Windows 7 simply would not auto-update. Turns out the Write permission was unchecked and once I set it WordPress 3.8.2 installed properly.
    – user50123
    Apr 9, 2014 at 0:35

4 Answers 4

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You could also try this.

In IIS manager

  1. Go to Application pools and choose the one used by your Wordpress Blog.
  2. Right Click and choose Advanced Settings...
  3. Change the Identity to LocalSystem
  4. Click OK to save changes.

Then on Sites,

  1. Choose your Wordpress Blog from the sites list
  2. Right Click on it and click on Edit permissions
  3. Go to security tab and click on Edit... (Group or user names)
  4. Click on add and type "Authenticated users"
  5. Click on Check Names to validate the username
  6. Click OK to save changes.

With that, WP should update without the need of using FTP.

Basically you just give read/write permission to an authenticated user... WP is running as a LocalSystem User.

To learn more about ftp configuration you can go to this Microsoft article. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc771012(v=ws.10).aspx Also, here there is a blog post showing how to install/configure FTP server...

If you are not able to set it up, you can also install another ftp server.. Ie: Filezilla FTP server, you can get it free from here http://filezilla-project.org/download.php?type=server

You can read more about IIS configuration at http://www.iis.net/learn/manage

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  • Hi mauri-many thanks for your helpful reply & instruction (which worked!).Please see the edit (today 10/10/12) to my original query above-many thanks again :-)
    – rpd
    Oct 10, 2012 at 8:05
  • 1
    @rpd if answer had solved your issue please accept it (check mark to the left of it) so question is marked as resolved
    – Rarst
    Oct 10, 2012 at 10:39
  • May I suggest putting "Authenticated Users" in quotes for users that aren't very familiar with Windows? "My friend" got stuck on that issue. Apr 22, 2015 at 15:20
  • I had to give Authenticated Users full control.
    – Burgi
    Feb 14, 2018 at 10:10
  • 2
    This is still the solution, even on Server 2019 / IIS 10. Thank you for your answer. Apr 4, 2019 at 2:11
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FTP credentials are fallback for when writing directly to the file system is not available. Naturally they take active FTP (or SSH) server - which is typical for any hosting out there, but not necessarily part of local installation.

Essentially you have two options:

  1. Troubleshoot why direct file system access is not available to your WP installation. On WordPress side Core Control plugin would be a starting point.

  2. Configure FTP server in IIS, see its documentation for specifics (it seems depending on IIS version you might need to download and install some stuff for it first).

I never had serious filesystem access issues on Windows, but I am running Apache stack myself. Might be some IIS-specific quirk.

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  • Hi many thanks for your reply. The reply by mauri fixes the updating issue for me (by bypassing the need to use ftp credentials).Plugins for me are ok if really needed but understanding the code & direct coding if possible is much more satisfactory imho. I do really need & want to understand more about IIS localhost server.Other Windows & WordPress users have faced this problem yet nowhere can I find the simple answer to this....strange! Anyway thanks & best wishes to you :-)
    – rpd
    Oct 10, 2012 at 8:19
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  1. Run 'inetmgr.exe'

  2. Access '<your_server>\Sites\<your_wordpress_site>

  3. Under the IIS pane open 'Authentication'

  4. Select 'Anonymous Authentication'

  5. Click Edit... under Actions in the right pane

  6. Select 'Application pool identity'

  7. Click 'Ok'

  8. In File Explorer, navigate to the Wordpress folder

  9. Right-click and select 'Properties'

  10. Under the Security tab, click Edit...

  11. Select IIS_IUSRS

  12. Check 'Full control'

  13. Click 'Ok'

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  • Full control sounds wrong to me - that includes things like changing other peoples' permissions and setting ownership I think.
    – Rup
    Dec 19, 2021 at 20:09
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You can also updated the core files of WordPress which placed on site root and only update the wp-admin & wp-includes folders files, that will fix the issue as well. And keep your wp-content folder remain same as it is without no changes in that.

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