The connection to the MS Exchange Server is Unavailable...please help

M

Mike B.

I am looking for the help of an Exchange guru who can help me with the
dreaded "The connection to the Microsoft Exchange Server is
Unavailable..." error.

Here is our setup:

We use a remote, managed, Exchange 2003 Server for email and group
calendar. We connect to it via RPC over HTTP.

We use Outlook 2003.

Right now I have 4 PC's that are using Outlook 2003, and they are
working properly. The problem is that I am trying to setup Outlook on
a new laptop, and regardless of what I try, I get the "The connection
to the MS Exchange server is unavailable" message when I try to
resolve the username/password.

After endless trial and error, I was able to get the username/password
to resolve, and at this point when I would launch Outlook on the
laptop it appeared that everything was working - it started to
download messages, set up all the folders etc....but when I try to
print an email I get the "The connection to the MS Exchange Server is
unavailable."

It is important to note that I have set up the laptop exactly like the
PC's that are successfully connecting to Exchange Server.

I have searched for months on google, read many articles and posts,
but have not been able to get to the bottom of this. A few weeks ago I
spent 3 hours on the phone with the guy who manages the Exchange
Server - he admitted I was not the only customer with this problem,
but so far has been unable to figure out what exactly is causing it.
He thinks it was a recent patch/security update, because a few months
ago this whole process worked fine for us.

Oh the laptop is running Windows XP SP2 updated.....I have even tried
to open my firewall to the Exchange and ISA Server....but it doesnt
make a difference.

Could this be a registry setting on the laptop? If so, which one?

Any help would be greatly appreciated...this is really frustrating me
- in fact this has been the most frustrating thing I have dealt with
professionally....absolutely no matter what I do, nothing works. What
really irks me is that a Google search shows that there are many
people experiencing this exact problem, only there is no clear cut
solution that I have been able to find. So if anyone here has any
ideas about this, please help. Setting up Outlook for RPC over HTTP
should be a 10, 15 min procedure, tops....this has turned into a 2+
month debacle, and it is starting to make me look incompetent.

Thanks for your help.
Mike
 
D

dlw

a shot in the dark, but are you using the laptop wireless, and does it do the
same thing plugged in to the network, if you have one?
 
M

Mike B.

a shot in the dark, but are you using the laptop wireless, and does it do the
same thing plugged in to the network, if you have one?

Sorry it took me so long to respond.

Yes, the problem occurs both on a wired and a wireless network.

I actually have a tech support call with Microsoft scheduled today so
we will see if they can help me.
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Top