I have my DotNet 2.0 web applications configured to send me email messages whenever errors happen. This wasn't too hard to do: I just added some code to the application_error event of global.asax. Usually, it works quite well and often I have a problem resolved before the user has time to alert me.

Recently, however, I've been getting a slew of puzzling errors. The message is: "Files does not exist" and it occurs in System.Web.StaticFileHandler.ProcessRequestInternal.

What was puzzling about this error is that it doesn't tell me which file is missing. I looked, and as near as I could tell everything was working fine. Yet my error logging continued to spew out these errors by the dozens.

After a little bit of research I was able to resolve the issue. It turns out that the request object as a "rawurl" property that returns the entire url being requested. I modified my error logging code to include the contents of this property and was able to determine that the icon file for the web page was missing. I copied it into its proper location and the stream of errors ceased.

Problem solved!

Here is the code that I use to log the errors, modified to include the rawurl property.

Sub Application_Error(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
   ' Fires when an error occurs
   Dim oEX As Exception = Server.GetLastError.GetBaseException

   Dim oMessage As New JMail.Message
   oMessage.RecipientAddressList = "wse@jlion.com"
   oMessage.SenderEmail = "wse@jlion.com"
   oMessage.SenderName = "ReportingErrors"
   Dim sMessage As String = "The following error has occurred: " & vbCrLf & oEX.Message & vbCrLf & oEX.StackTrace
   Try
       sMessage = HttpContext.Current.Request.PhysicalApplicationPath & vbCrLf & _
             HttpContext.Current.Request.RawUrl & vbCrLf & _
             sMessage

   Catch oex3 As Exception
       '---Don't do anything
   End Try
   
   oMessage.Message = sMessage
   Dim sSubject As String = "Error in Reporting Web Site"
   Try
       sSubject = sSubject & ": " & HttpContext.Current.Server.MachineName

       Try
      sSubject = sSubject & " User: " & Session("UserID")
       Catch oEx3 As Exception
      '---Don't do anything
       End Try

   Catch oEx2 As Exception
       '---Don't do anything
   End Try

   oMessage.Subject = sSubject

   Dim oSender As New JMail.SendEmail
   oSender.SendThisMessage(oMessage)
End Sub