CGI error - specified CGI application misbehaved

[jsprenz]

Why do I occasionally get the following error when running your search?

"CGI Error The specified CGI application misbehaved by not returning a complete set of http headers. The headers are: (nothing listed)"

I am using V4.0 Pro cgi version on IIS 5.0 Win2K.....

[wrensoft]

It could be a problem with your server or it might be a bug in our CGI version or it might be that the CGI has produced some strange output becuase you don't have a complete set of index files.

Is your site online somewhere were we can have a look at the problem? What is the URL?

Can you try re-indexing your site and re-uploading all the index files.

Does the error only happen with some particular search words or does it happen at random with all search words? How often does it happen?

------
David

[jsprenz]

check this link out....

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;884764

It is a Microsoft problem

[wrensoft]

Thanks for pointing this out. We were not aware of this bug in IIS.

To save people looking it up, here are the details from Microsoft,

-=-=-=
SYMPTOMS
When you run Common Gateway Interface (CGI) applications on a fast computer, you may receive the following CGI error message:

The specified CGI application misbehaved by not returning a complete set of HTTP headers from time to time

This error message may not appear for every request to the CGI application. This problem is more likely to occur on a fast multi-processor computer that is running Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 5.0 and IIS 6.0.

RESOLUTION
A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Only apply it to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next Windows Server 2003 service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;[LN];CNTACTMS
-=-=-=

David

[Ray]

We've recently found that this error can also be caused by an IIS server setup to handle all ".cgi" files as Perl scripts. You can work-around this issue simply by renaming "search.cgi" to "search.exe" For more information, see this updated FAQ page:
http://www.wrensoft.com/zoom/support/faq_cgi.html#cgi_misbehaved

[johnwmpls]

Just curious if anyone has seen anymore of this issue since the last posting? My server is STILL giving this error msg w/ Zoom6 (alpha / beta), even after running Server2k3 SP2. I hoping the final code will fix it, but I want to be sure before shelling out the money for an upgrade. On a side-note, Zoom5 runs w/ out a hitch on the same server.

:confused:

[wrensoft]

You almost surely have a configuraton problem. This page covers all the common CGI problems and solutions.
http://www.wrensoft.com/zoom/support/faq_cgi.html

[Ray]

Zoom 6 is out of beta, so if you are using a previous alpha/beta build, you should upgrade to the latest build from here (http://www.wrensoft.com/zoom/whatsnew.html).