XCLN: ShivaRemote Connectivity with Windows 3.1x and Windows NT RAS

ID: Q187829

The information in this article applies to:
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

When you are using the ShivaRemote client software to establish a connection through a Windows NT Remote Access Service (RAS) server to an Exchange Server computer, the following error message may appear:

"Unable to negotiate LCP connection. Please check that remote device is installed and configured and that dial-in is enabled"
This is most commonly seen with clients using an Exchange or Outlook client for Windows 3.x. ShivaRemote software is shipped with these clients for dial-up access.


CAUSE

The RAS server is a Windows NT Server 4.0 computer. If your RAS server is configured to "Allow any authentication including clear text," a RAS client is able to connect with Password Authentication Protocol (PAP), Shiva Password Authentication Protocol (SPAP), Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP), or MS-CHAP, depending on what the client supports. Normally, a client attempts to connect with CHAP or MS-CHAP, if that is valid for the RAS server to which it is connecting. In the case of ShivaRemote client connections, Shiva does not support MS-CHAP, which causes the client to fail.


WORKAROUND

There are four possible workarounds:

  1. Set the Windows NT Server 4.0 RAS computer to use NetBEUI as the only protocol. This allows the Exchange connection to work. However, the NetBEUI protocol has limitations that others do not.


  2. Downgrade the RAS server to Windows NT version 3.51 with the latest service pack. Shiva can negotiate connections through Windows NT 3.51 RAS servers using any protocol.


  3. Upgrade the client to Windows 95 and use dial-up networking to configure a remote connection.


  4. Change the RAS server so that it is forced to use PAP only. If your RAS server is configured to "Allow any authentication including clear text," a RAS client is able to connect with PAP, SPAP, CHAP, or MS-CHAP depending on what the client supports. Normally, a Microsoft RAS client attempts to connect with CHAP or MS-CHAP, if that is valid for the RAS server to which it is connecting. To force a RAS client to use PAP, you must delete the SPAP and CHAP registry keys from your RAS server using the following steps:


WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

  1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).


  2. Go to the following subkey: 
    
      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\RasMan\PPP


  3. Click SPAP, click Edit, and click Delete.


  4. Click Yes to confirm the deletion.


  5. Click CHAP, click Edit, and click Delete.


  6. Click Yes to confirm the deletion.


  7. Close Registry Editor. Stop and restart the Routing and Remote Access Service.


NOTE: This procedure does not work on normal Windows NT RAS servers, only Windows NT Server 4.0 RAS computers that have Routing and Remote Access installed. If you delete these registry keys on a normal RAS server, the RAS services will fail to start after you restart.


MORE INFORMATION

The following are recommended methods for connecting remote Windows 3.1x users to an Exchange Server computer:

  1. Outlook for Windows 3.1x that ships with Exchange 5.5, also ships with Shiva connectivity (the same version of Shiva that shipped with Exchange 5.0 clients, version 3.59). If your RAS server is Windows NT 4.0, then you can connect your clients via Shiva using NetBEUI only. See detailed information above.


  2. Outlook Web Access (OWA), which is basically connecting to the Exchange Server computer through an Internet browser (no separate Exchange/Outlook client). OWA is not a full-featured client but may work well in your scenario.


  3. Outlook for Windows 3.1x that ships with Exchange 5.5 with Shiva connectivity. If your RAS server is Windows NT 3.51 (instead of 4.0), you can use TCP/IP, IPX, or NetBEUI to connect to the Exchange Server computer via Shiva RAS.


For more information about remote connectivity using Windows 3.1x clients, see the Readme.txt file included with Exchange and Outlook clients. 


Keywords          : XCLN 
Version           : WINDOWS:4.0,5.0,8.0
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: April 27, 1999