Machine.config

Overview

The machine.config contains settings that apply to an entire computer. Editing this file is usually discouraged for users who do not fully understand the implications of doing so.

Location

Locating this file can be difficult, as multiple versions of it exist for the various versions of the .NET Framework installed on the local machine.

The root directory where a user should begin their search is C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\.

Within this directory there's a directory named Framework and another one named Framework64. These directories contain the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the .NET framework (respectively). Beneath these folders, the structure should be identical, so if you make a change under one of these and it doesn't fix it, try making the same change under the other first.

C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework

C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64

These two directories contain a number of folders (disregard any files in this directory, as they aren't relevant for the purposes of this article). Each folder refers to a specific version of the .NET framework. The number of folders can vary based on the operating system as well as the installed applications. Most applications from eVision Services are currently using the .NET 4.0 framework, which should be contained in a folder named v4.0.30319.

Inside the folder for a particular version, there should be a directory named Config. In this folder there's a file named machine.config, which is the file that can be edited. (It is important to note that there are multiple files with very similar names, so double-check the name of the file before making any modifications to it)

Here are some examples of the full paths to the relevant files:

32-bit: C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\Config\machine.config

64-bit: C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\Config\machine.config

Related Issues

The 'DbProviderFactories' section can only appear once per config file.