nealdt

once I start uploading the new DLL files, any request to the site will result in an ASP.NET exception page complaining that file X.dll is in use by another process. Is there any way to bring down my site but not show any errors like that while the new files are uploading?

Hi Neal,

If you place the app_offline.htm file in your web application, all the requests to this web application should be returned with the content of the app_offline.htm.

However, I should mention that you should input more contents in the app_offline.htm. If the response length less then 512 bytes, IE by defualt displays the 404 error.

At last, if the detailed exception message for X.dll is being used by another process still persist. I recommend you changing the “customErrors” mode to “RemoteOnly” in web.cofig. After setting that, all the remote requests will be returned with the general error message instead of the actual one when exception occurs.

customErrors Element (ASP.NET Settings Schema)
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/h0hfz6fc(VS.80).aspx