MVC Errors when first loading the page

You may run into permission problems when you create an MVC project and view the page for the first time.

Here are some errors you may get:


Cannot read configuration file due to insufficient permissions 

The solution to this is to make sure that the Application Pool is running under an account with permissions to your web root folder. Open Windows Explorer, right click on the directory where your web files are located.  Right-click and choose Properties.  Click on the Security tab and click Edit.  Add the Network Service user and give it Read access.

Open IIS.  Double click on Application Pools.  Select the Application Pool your website is using.  Right click on it and choose Advanced Settings.  Under Process Model change the Identity to Network Service.

You do not have permission to view this directory or page because of the access control list (ACL) configuration or encryption settings for this resource on the Web server.

The solution to this is to add the user IUSR to your web root folder and give it Read access.  Same procedure as the first step above.