Unable to overwrite or delete shared instance map services and the associated ArcGIS Enterprise portal's items

Description

After upgrading a Microsoft SQL Server enterprise geodatabase, existing referenced map services configured with the shared instance pool fail to start and cannot be overwritten or deleted. When attempting to manage the affected services, the following error messages are returned:

• Overwriting the map image layer from ArcGIS Pro

Error:
Unable to retrieve information for existing item: Error handling service request :0x80004005 - No Layer or Table was initialized. in "esriCarto.GraphicFeatureServer"

• Deleting the map image layer item from the ArcGIS Enterprise portal

Error:
Unable to delete item.

• Deleting the map service from ArcGIS Server Manager and the server logs the error

Error:
Failed to stop one or more services: [Service Name]. Could not undeploy services from one or more machines. 'null'.

Although the enterprise geodatabase remains accessible and new referenced services can be published using an updated database connection, the existing shared instance services and their associated portal items remain unusable.

Cause

Upgrading the Microsoft SQL Server enterprise geodatabase may result in an unexpected change to the SQL Server port. Existing referenced services store database connection information at the time of publishing. When the port changes, the connection strings embedded in the existing services become invalid. As a result, the services can no longer access their source data, preventing them from initializing layers or tables. Consequently, ArcGIS Server cannot load, overwrite, stop, or undeploy them. This also prevents the associated items from being deleted in the portal.

Solution or Workaround

This workflow applies to map services configured with shared instance pooling.

1. Log in to ArcGIS Server Administrator Directory using an administrator account.
2. Navigate to services > System > DynamicMappingHost (MapServer).
3. For Supported Operations, click stop.
4. On the Stop Service page, click Stop.

Note:
All map services in the shared instance pool are unavailable while the DynamicMappingHost.MapServer system service is stopped.

5. Delete the non-working map services:
1. Navigate to services and select the affected map service.
2. For Supported Operations, click delete.
3. On the Delete Service page, click Delete.

Warning: 
Do not delete the DynamicMappingHost.MapServer system service. Delete only the map services referencing the outdated database connection.

6. Start the DynamicMappingHost (MapServer) system service.
7. Log in to the portal, navigate to Content, and delete the corresponding map image layer and feature layer items that reference the map services deleted in Step 5.
8. Republish the map image layer from ArcGIS Pro using the updated database connection information.