I have an issue on a windows 2016 server (not on my local PC) Where a website keeps modifying the dashboard.config causing constant restarts. umbraco version is 7.6.3 If I set FCN mode to disabled the restarting goes away, and so does the constant modifying of the dashboard.config, so I assume the dashboard.config is modified somewhere in startup code which causes the site to begin shutting down. I've searched our code for dashboard.config and can't find anywhere we could be doing something with it.

Given FCN mode = single using process monitor I see this kind of activity over and over:

30:56.9 w3wp.exe    13136   QueryOpen D:\wwwdeployment\test\WhiteSite\0.1.379_1\config\Dashboard.config SUCCESS CreationTime: 13/09/2017 3:58:03 PM, LastAccessTime: 13/09/2017 3:58:03 PM, LastWriteTime: 21/09/2017 5:12:11 PM, ChangeTime: 21/09/2017 5:12:11 PM, AllocationSize: 4,096, EndOfFile: 2,545, FileAttributes: A
30:57.2 w3wp.exe    13136   QueryOpen   D:\wwwdeployment\test\WhiteSite\0.1.379_1\config\Dashboard.config   SUCCESS CreationTime: 13/09/2017 3:58:03 PM, LastAccessTime: 13/09/2017 3:58:03 PM, LastWriteTime: 21/09/2017 5:12:11 PM, ChangeTime: 21/09/2017 5:12:11 PM, AllocationSize: 4,096, EndOfFile: 2,545, FileAttributes: A
30:57.2 w3wp.exe    13136   QueryDirectory  D:\wwwdeployment\test\WhiteSite\0.1.379_1\config\Dashboard.config   SUCCESS Filter: Dashboard.config, 1: Dashboard.config
30:57.2 w3wp.exe    13136   CreateFile  D:\wwwdeployment\test\WhiteSite\0.1.379_1\config\Dashboard.config   SUCCESS Desired Access: Read Control, Disposition: Open, Options: Open Reparse Point, Attributes: n/a, ShareMode: Read, Write, Delete, AllocationSize: n/a, OpenResult: Opened
30:57.2 w3wp.exe    13136   QuerySecurityFile   D:\wwwdeployment\test\WhiteSite\0.1.379_1\config\Dashboard.config   SUCCESS Information: Owner, Group, DACL

From this I infer it's the website which keeps modifying the dashboard.config

The umbraco log has:

 2017-09-21 17:31:38,049 [P13136/D10/T88] INFO  Umbraco.Core.UmbracoApplicationBase - Application shutdown. Details: ConfigurationChange

_shutDownMessage=CONFIG change
HostingEnvironment initiated shutdown
CONFIG change
CONFIG change
CONFIG change
CONFIG change
CONFIG change
HostingEnvironment caused shutdown

_shutDownStack=   at System.Environment.GetStackTrace(Exception e, Boolean needFileInfo)
   at System.Environment.get_StackTrace()
   at System.Web.Hosting.HostingEnvironment.InitiateShutdownInternal()
   at System.Web.Hosting.HostingEnvironment.InitiateShutdownWithoutDemand()
   at System.Web.HttpRuntime.ShutdownAppDomain(String stackTrace)
   at System.Web.Configuration.HttpConfigurationSystem.OnConfigurationChanged(Object sender, InternalConfigEventArgs e)
   at System.Configuration.Internal.InternalConfigRoot.OnConfigChanged(InternalConfigEventArgs e)
   at System.Configuration.BaseConfigurationRecord.OnStreamChanged(String streamname)
   at System.Web.DirectoryMonitor.FireNotifications()
   at System.Web.Util.WorkItem.CallCallbackWithAssert(WorkItemCallback callback)
   at System.Web.Util.WorkItem.OnQueueUserWorkItemCompletion(Object state)
   at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.RunInternal(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
   at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
   at System.Threading.QueueUserWorkItemCallback.System.Threading.IThreadPoolWorkItem.ExecuteWorkItem()
   at System.Threading.ThreadPoolWorkQueue.Dispatch()

I gathered logs from procmon and umbraco for a single request, but these seem to be the only relevant bits.