# The Content Central login page won't open

Match what your browser shows — server not found, connection refused, an HTTP error, or failing links — to the fix, and know exactly what to send support if you're still stuck.

Product: content-central · Versions: 7.x · Audience: system-administrator · Time: 15-30 minutes · Last verified: 2026-08-30

Canonical: https://help.ademero.com/content-central/administration/login-page-wont-open

**By the end of this guide you'll know which layer is failing — name lookup, network, IIS, or the address itself — and either have the login page back or have a compact evidence packet ready for support.**

## Match your symptom first

What the browser shows tells you where the problem is. Find your row, then jump to that section.

| What you see | Where the problem is | Section |
| --- | --- | --- |
| "Server not found" / "site can't be reached" | The name doesn't resolve (DNS) | 1 |
| Connection refused or timed out | Network, firewall, or IIS is stopped | 2 |
| An HTTP error page (500, 503, etc.) | IIS reached, but the application failed | 3 |
| Login page loads, but sign-in fails | Credentials/session — different guide | 4 |
| You can sign in, but emailed/exported links fail | Two different addresses in use | 5 |

> **NOTE:** The address is usually `http(s)://<server>/ContentCentral`, but the folder name can differ per install. Confirm the exact address a working user has bookmarked before changing anything.

## 1. "Server not found" — the name doesn't resolve

The browser never reached the server. This is common after a server move: the old hostname no longer points anywhere.

1. On the affected workstation, open a Command Prompt and look up the server name from your Content Central address:
   
   ```
   nslookup yourserver
   ```
   
   **What you should see:** an IP address. `Non-existent domain` (NXDOMAIN) means DNS has no record for that name — Content Central itself was never involved.

2. If the lookup fails, ask whoever manages DNS to point the name at the current server, or confirm the correct current address with your IT team.

> **IMPORTANT:** Changing a **workstation's** IP address never changes the server address. If the page stopped loading after a network change, the server name or the server's own address changed — start with DNS, not the browser.

## 2. Connection refused or timed out

The name resolved, but nothing answered. Check the path from workstation to web server.

1. From the workstation, test the port (use `443` if your address starts with `https://`):
   
   ```
   Test-NetConnection yourserver -Port 80
   ```
   
   **What you should see:** `TcpTestSucceeded : True`. `False` means a firewall is blocking the port or nothing is listening.

2. If the test fails, sign in to the Content Central server and check that **World Wide Web Publishing Service** is **Running** in `services.msc`. Start it if stopped.

3. Still failing? Ask IT to check firewalls between the workstation and server for the web port. A page that works on the server itself but not from workstations is almost always a firewall.

## 3. An HTTP error page appears

IIS answered but the application couldn't. Do these checks on the Content Central server.

1. Open **IIS Manager** > **Application Pools** and confirm `ContentCentralApplicationPool` shows **Started**. Start it if stopped, then reload the page.

2. Open **Event Viewer** > **Applications and Services Logs** > **ContentCentral** and read the newest errors from source `AdmCCWebsite`. The message here is almost always more specific than the browser page.

*[Screenshot: Event Viewer showing the ContentCentral log with an AdmCCWebsite error selected]*

3. **If the server was recently moved or restored:** a frequent cause is the IIS worker process being unable to write its ASP.NET temporary compilation folder on the new machine. Have IT confirm the app pool identity (**NETWORK SERVICE** by default) can write to the `Temporary ASP.NET Files` folder for .NET Framework 4.x, then stop the app pool, clear that folder's contents (it's a rebuildable compile cache, not data), and start the pool again.

4. **If the error started right after an upgrade:** Content Central deliberately refuses to start when the database version doesn't match the installed program version. Don't work around it — contact support with the event-log message.

**What you should see when it's fixed:** the login page with **Username**, **Password**, and **Domain** fields and a **Login** button. That's your success check for sections 1–3.

## 4. The login page loads, but sign-in fails

That's not a "page won't open" problem — the web application is healthy. Credentials, domain selection, and sessions are covered in [How signing in works](/content-central/administration/how-signing-in-works).

## 5. Signed in, but links Content Central sent you fail

A user is signed in and working, but a link from a notification email or an exported form is denied or asks them to sign in again.

Sign-in is tracked by a browser cookie tied to the **exact host name in the address bar**. Someone signed in at `http://192.168.1.10/ContentCentral` has no session at `http://yourserver/ContentCentral` — the browser treats them as two different sites, even though they're the same server.

1. Pick **one canonical address** — the proper name, not an IP — and have everyone bookmark and use only that.

2. In **Admin** > **System Settings**, under **Notification Settings**, check **Override server URL in outgoing notifications** and set **Server URL** to that canonical address (e.g. `http://yourserver/ContentCentral/`).

3. In the same settings, under **Workflow Settings**, set **Server URL for workflow** to the same address — this is the one used for exported capture forms and document sharing.

> **WARNING:** Don't "fix" this by telling users to browse by IP address. That multiplies the number of addresses in use and the number of broken links. One address everywhere is the fix.

## Still stuck?

- [ ] The exact address you're browsing to, copied from the address bar
- [ ] Which symptom row from the table above matches, and a screenshot of what the browser shows
- [ ] Output of `nslookup yourserver` and `Test-NetConnection yourserver -Port 80` (or `443`) from an affected workstation
- [ ] Whether `ContentCentralApplicationPool` shows **Started** in IIS Manager
- [ ] The newest error text from **Event Viewer** > **ContentCentral** log, source `AdmCCWebsite`
- [ ] Whether the server was recently moved, restored, or upgraded — and when the page last worked

Send that packet to support and they can usually pinpoint the layer on the first reply.

## What's next

- [How signing in works](https://help.ademero.com/content-central/administration/how-signing-in-works)
- [Troubleshooting a Content Central migration](https://help.ademero.com/content-central/administration/troubleshooting-a-content-central-migration)