Error Code Troubleshooting
Common HTTP error codes and their resolutions for Cortex deployments.
HTTP 500 error
You may also see errors in the Windows Event Viewer about "unable to activate".
Solution: There are multiple possibilities, but first ensure you have installed the ASP.NET Core Module/Hosting Bundle. If so, check the Windows Event Viewer for any of the messages below.
If you attempted to install the ASP.NET Core Module/Hosting Bundle before installing IIS on your server, you will need to re-run or "Repair" the installation afterwards.
503 Service Unavailable
Symptoms
Users receive a 503 Service Unavailable error when attempting to access Cortex.
Likely Cause
The IIS Application Pool used by Cortex has stopped.
This commonly occurs when the Application Pool identity is configured with a specific Windows account and that account's password has been changed or reset.
How to Check
- Open IIS Manager
- Navigate to Application Pools
- Locate the Application Pool used by Cortex
- Check the Status column
- If it shows Stopped, this is likely the issue
- Check the Identity column
- If it is set to a specific Windows account (not ApplicationPoolIdentity), verify that the password is correct
Resolution
If the Application Pool is stopped due to credential failure:
- Right-click the Application Pool
- Select Advanced Settings
- Under Process Model -> Identity, click the identity value
- Re-enter the correct password for the service account
- Start the Application Pool
After correcting the credentials, Cortex should become accessible again.
SQL Server full-text error (30010)
Symptoms
A keyword search fails and Cortex reports an error such as "An error has occurred during the full-text query...", with SQL Server error number 30010. It appears most often after the SQL Server instance was upgraded in place, or after a database backup was restored onto a much newer version of SQL Server.
Likely Cause
SQL Server's full-text engine is installed but failing at runtime. The two most common causes are the SQL Full-text Filter Daemon Launcher (MSSQLFDLauncher) service being stopped or unable to start, and a full-text catalog that needs rebuilding after the upgrade or restore.
Note that this is different from full-text search not being installed at all, which Cortex detects on its own and reports as "Full-Text search is not installed on the SQL Server".
Resolution
- On the SQL Server, confirm the SQL Full-text Filter Daemon Launcher service is running, then restart it and retest the search.
- If the error persists, restart the SQL Server service and retest.
- If it still persists, rebuild the full-text catalog:
ALTER FULLTEXT CATALOG [YourFullTextCatalog] REBUILD.
See Full-Text Search Errors After a SQL Server Upgrade or Restore for the full list of checks, the exact statements, and what to send support if none of it resolves the problem.