Server 2003 answers ping, but wont serve http, ftp,smtp or pop3

After reboot, my server wont respond to any incoming request until it is rebooted again. Then, about 5-6 hrs later, any website on it will return a ping, but it will not serve the page, nor will it serve ftp, pop3 or smtp requests.

The System log shows W3SVC errors 1014 and 1074, which relate to an Application pool not replying; I have one phpAdmin app pool which I have stopped - it is showing a solitary website as the default App, but the server no longer serves php extensions, and I can't transfer the default website to another pool to kill the whole app pool.

I would appreciate your help.

From serverfault Manfred

• Welcome to pool hell. If the application pool responsible for your sites isn't running... your site won't run. As far as the default site goes, you probably need to configure it to run the php extensions. If you don't really need the default site, you might simply need to stop it & start the correct sites. I've seen similar situations where 2 sites are configured to both accept all server names on the same port/ip.

  Manfred : I managed to get rid of the app pool problems ( I think) - no more log messages. The only app pool running now is the default app pool. php is gone. Still, at 6:40 am the server shutdown and re-started, and when it came up, it would not serve but it pings... I am puzzled
  From TheCompWiz

• Just because the server is pinging doesn't mean that the requisite services are. (That just indicates that the server is running and the network stack is working.)

  Have you verified that IIS (which covers WWW and FTP) is running, as well as your SMTP service? You mention the IIS errors but don't mention whether those errors have stopped the service or not.

  Manfred : I am not located close tot he server, but it is sounding like I should take a trip to see it onsite the next time it hangs.

  gWaldo : If you can RDP into it, do that. Also, if you open an MMC under an account that has rights to that server, do so and open services and event viewer (or computer management to do it all at once) to check out the services and logs.

  gWaldo : run nmap against it to see what ports it _is_ listening on. That may help give you a clue what is working...
  From gWaldo