24.4 Web Access fails after upgrading to due to invalid system path entries

After upgrading to version 24.4 on Windows Server 2022, Web Access may fail to initialize correctly. In the reported case, logs pointed to invalid or blank entries in the ae_paths table, which caused a database read error during startup.

This issue can occur when the ae_paths table contains blank, null, or misconfigured path entries. During startup, the application attempts to read those entries and may fail if unexpected null values are present.

Resolution

Follow these steps:

1. Back up the database
   • Create a backup before making any changes.
2. Review the ae_paths table
   • Inspect the table for blank or null path values.
   • Look for incomplete or invalid system path records.
3. Remove or correct invalid entries
   • Delete blank entries or update them with valid values as appropriate.
   • Confirm the remaining records are complete and accurate.
4. Enable verbose logging if additional detail is needed
   • Back up the web.config file for the affected application.
   • Update the <system.diagnostics> section to enable file-based verbose tracing.
   • Collect fresh logs after reproducing the issue.
5. Restart the application
   • After cleanup, restart Web Access and test again.