URGENT problem - creating new ASP.NET web application

[VB Programmer]

When I go to create a new ASP.NET web application VS 2003 freezes on this
message:
Contacting server to create Web project 'WebApplication1'...

I checked my file system and the C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\WebApplication1
directory is created. One file is in there called
vs-211169597029639694_tmp.htm. There are NO SUBFOLDERS created. Also,
WebApplication1 shows up as a normal yellow folder in IIS (rather than the
box with the ball in it.)

I'm running XP Pro, VS2003 and IIS v5.1. I completely reinstalled VS2003
and IIS but it's still not working. I even reran aspnet_regiis -i.

I could create web apps fine before. I'm not sure why I can't now. Please
help! This is URGENT.

Thanks!

 

[VB Programmer]

Whats even weirder:

When to http://localhost/iishelp/ to take a look at IIS Help and the
progress bar just sat there at like 50% forever.

 

[Russell Stevens]

VBP,

Had an identical problem - IIS stopped responding - was due to upgrading
Zone Alarm to version 5. May have nothing to do with your problem but the
symptons were identical.

Russ Stevens

 

[VB Programmer]

THAT WAS IT EXACTLY!!!!

Robert

 

[VB Programmer]

What did you to to Zone Alarm to get it to work?

 

[Russell Stevens]

VBP,

<<What did you to to Zone Alarm to get it to work?>>

I trashed it - no excuse for a company putting out something that
untested. There are many thousands of computers that stopped working
yesterday - no error message, no clue, all due to an "automatic" update.
Take a quick look at their online support forum - they are not happy
campers - and they haven't pulled it yet!!!

Any time a product like this might save in protecting a computer is
totally eclipsed by the time the product wastes due to incompetence. I could
have done a complete hard disk restore in the time it took me to figure out
why nothing worked.

Russ Stevens