ASP.NET Core applications operate differently than traditional ASP.NET sites, running as independent processes managed by the ASP.NET Core Module in IIS. Consequently, when errors occur—particularly during startup—they often manifest as generic HTTP 500.xx status codes or "Process Failure" messages rather than detailed error pages.
This section guides you through diagnosing these specific startup issues, interpreting standard output (stdout) logs, and resolving common runtime version mismatches.