Error message when you use Outlook 2007 in Windows Vista to try to connect to a computer that is running Exchange Server 2003: "Task reported error 0x8004011D. The server is not available"

You use Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 on a computer that is running Windows Vista. When you try to connect to a computer that is running Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, you receive the following error message:

This problem occurs if the destination port to which Outlook 2007 connects is TCP port 1723. For example, this problem occurs if the Microsoft Exchange Information Store service is configured to listen on port 1723.

In Windows Vista, client programs may be unable to connect to server services that listen on TCP port 1723. This problem occurs because Windows Vista determines that all outgoing traffic on TCP port 1723 is traffic for a point-to-point tunneling protocol (PPTP) VPN connection. The Windows Firewall service includes a stateful PPTP protocol analyzer which can reject traffic over TCP port 1723 under certain conditions.

Warning This workaround may make a computer or a network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We do not recommend this workaround but are providing this information so that you can implement this workaround at your own discretion. Use this workaround at your own risk.

To work around this problem, follow these steps:

1. Start an elevated command prompt. To do this, click Start
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   , type cmd in the Start Search box, right-click cmd in the Programs list, and then click Run as administrator.
   
   
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   If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or click Continue.
2. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
   netsh advfirewall set global statefulpptp disable
3. Exit Outlook 2007 if it is running, and then restart Outlook 2007.
   
   Note If you are still unable to connect to Exchange Server 2003, restart the Windows Vista-based computer, and then start Outlook 2007.

You can also use Group Policy to configure this setting on Windows Vista-based client computers. To do this, follow these steps:

1. On a Windows Vista-based client computer, start an elevated command prompt.
2. At the command prompt, type netsh, and then press ENTER.
3. Type advfirewall, and then press ENTER.
4. Type set store=name-of-GPO-to-modify, and then press ENTER.
   
   This action sets the context to the Group Policy object that you want to modify by using the new firewall settings.
5. Type netsh advfirewall set global statefulpptp disable, and then press ENTER.
   
   This action creates a Registry.pol file in the SYSVOL shared folder on one domain controller. This policy file is then replicated to all other domain controllers during the next replication cycle.
   
   Note For the new policy to be applied, the client computers must be restarted.