Hi I am running Outlook Express 6 on my terminal server and every time a
user opens up their OE they get a message stating,

"Would you like to go offline?
No connection to the internet is currently available. To view internet
content that has been saved to your computer, click Work Offline.
Click Try Again to attempt to connect.
Options:
"Work Offline" or "Try Again"

By clicking Try Again it logs them in but the next time they close and
re-open outlook express they receive this message.

Any Help would be greatly appreciated.

Check their settings in Outlook Express at Tools, Accounts, Mail/News,
Properties, Connection for each mail and news account. One or more of
the accounts may be set incorrectly for your environment. Also look at
Tools, Options, Connection for Hang up after sending and receiving.

The other thing to be aware of is that OE and IE share the Work, Offline
setting. If they've done something in IE to select the Work Offline, OE
will pick up that setting as well.


--

Mike - http://pages.prodigy.net/michael_santovec/techhelp.htm


"Tim Kendall" wrote in message
...
Hi I am running Outlook Express 6 on my terminal server and every time
a user opens up their OE they get a message stating,

"Would you like to go offline?
No connection to the internet is currently available. To view internet
content that has been saved to your computer, click Work Offline.
Click Try Again to attempt to connect.
Options:
"Work Offline" or "Try Again"

By clicking Try Again it logs them in but the next time they close and
re-open outlook express they receive this message.

Any Help would be greatly appreciated.

(cross-post added to XP Networking)
"Tim Kendall" wrote in message
...
Hi I am running Outlook Express 6 on my terminal server and every time a
user opens up their OE they get a message stating,

"Would you like to go offline?
No connection to the internet is currently available. To view internet
content that has been saved to your computer, click Work Offline.
Click Try Again to attempt to connect.
Options:
"Work Offline" or "Try Again"

By clicking Try Again it logs them in but the next time they close and
re-open outlook express they receive this message.

Any Help would be greatly appreciated.


It's not just OE. It's actually a configuration problem/deficiency on the OS.
What is happening is that there is no clear Internet connection
when the app checks for one. Perhaps it times out?
This happens especially on PPPoE links which work just like
regular dial-up PPP links but when they are connected automatically
the user isn't aware of this and thus may have the mindset that the
Internet connection is always-ready, even if it isn't really.

To see this you could try tracing the connection with netcap
and formatting the trace with Ethereal. I suspect you would find
that the link is going up and down more often than you would expect.

What I would be interested in knowing is if the link goes back up
as a result of the first request, in which case the prompt is only for a higher
level protocol (exactly as a Dial-up user who specifies Never dial... can see,
when the same prompt gives them a chance to complete a manual dial)
or if it only goes back up as a result of the Try Again being clicked.
That should be pretty simple to check, just by pausing a bit longer than
normal before clicking on the Try Again.

BTW have you ever checked the status *before* trying a request
which you suspect might cause the symptom? E.g. perhaps

ipconfig /all

(in a cmd window) would show you something different at that time
than it would show you when a request would work normally? Etc.


HTH

Robert Aldwinckle
---

Hi Robert,

It's not a problem with our PPPoE because both of our terminal servers
are running this but only one of them is encountering this issue. Also
the users could be using the Internet on non-cached websites with no
problem at all. As for the ipconfig /all, we have policies on the user
side setup that won't allow users to run a command window but once again
connection to the outside world is already established.

We send/receive e-mail internally on our server through a separate
account then used to email outside suppliers/customers, and never needs
to access the outside world.

Thanks,

-Tim

Robert Aldwinckle wrote:
(cross-post added to XP Networking)
"Tim Kendall" wrote in message
...
Hi I am running Outlook Express 6 on my terminal server and every time a
user opens up their OE they get a message stating,

"Would you like to go offline?
No connection to the internet is currently available. To view internet
content that has been saved to your computer, click Work Offline.
Click Try Again to attempt to connect.
Options:
"Work Offline" or "Try Again"

By clicking Try Again it logs them in but the next time they close and
re-open outlook express they receive this message.

Any Help would be greatly appreciated.


It's not just OE. It's actually a configuration problem/deficiency on the OS.
What is happening is that there is no clear Internet connection
when the app checks for one. Perhaps it times out?
This happens especially on PPPoE links which work just like
regular dial-up PPP links but when they are connected automatically
the user isn't aware of this and thus may have the mindset that the
Internet connection is always-ready, even if it isn't really.

To see this you could try tracing the connection with netcap
and formatting the trace with Ethereal. I suspect you would find
that the link is going up and down more often than you would expect.

What I would be interested in knowing is if the link goes back up
as a result of the first request, in which case the prompt is only for a higher
level protocol (exactly as a Dial-up user who specifies Never dial... can see,
when the same prompt gives them a chance to complete a manual dial)
or if it only goes back up as a result of the Try Again being clicked.
That should be pretty simple to check, just by pausing a bit longer than
normal before clicking on the Try Again.

BTW have you ever checked the status *before* trying a request
which you suspect might cause the symptom? E.g. perhaps

ipconfig /all

(in a cmd window) would show you something different at that time
than it would show you when a request would work normally? Etc.


HTH

Robert Aldwinckle
---

"Tim Kendall" wrote in message
...
Hi Robert,

It's not a problem with our PPPoE because both of our terminal servers
are running this but only one of them is encountering this issue.


I don't think that that is a sufficient argument against the idea
because unless you trace them both you know nothing about
any timing differences between the machines.


Also the users could be using the Internet on non-cached websites
with no problem at all.


Explain?


As for the ipconfig /all, we have policies on the user
side setup that won't allow users to run a command window

but once again connection to the outside world is already established.


That's precisely my point. With PPPoE you may think that there is a connection
but there may not be at least temporarily and if that is when an app is checking
for a connection it will show that there isn't. From there the associated external
symptoms would be simply a question about the usability the app provides
for that case.



We send/receive e-mail internally on our server through a separate
account then used to email outside suppliers/customers, and never needs
to access the outside world.


So what? Does that imply a second networking path? E.g. not PPPoE?


Robert
---

We are using a fibre line here, we don't use PPPoE. What I ment by the
internet statement was, if we were having problems with our PPPoE which
we don't have, the users wouldn't be able to connect to the Internet
either. They would have the same connection issue.


Robert Aldwinckle wrote:
"Tim Kendall" wrote in message
...
Hi Robert,

It's not a problem with our PPPoE because both of our terminal servers
are running this but only one of them is encountering this issue.


I don't think that that is a sufficient argument against the idea
because unless you trace them both you know nothing about
any timing differences between the machines.


Also the users could be using the Internet on non-cached websites
with no problem at all.


Explain?


As for the ipconfig /all, we have policies on the user
side setup that won't allow users to run a command window

but once again connection to the outside world is already established.


That's precisely my point. With PPPoE you may think that there is a connection
but there may not be at least temporarily and if that is when an app is checking
for a connection it will show that there isn't. From there the associated external
symptoms would be simply a question about the usability the app provides
for that case.


We send/receive e-mail internally on our server through a separate
account then used to email outside suppliers/customers, and never needs
to access the outside world.


So what? Does that imply a second networking path? E.g. not PPPoE?


Robert
---

"Tim Kendall" wrote in message
...
We are using a fibre line here, we don't use PPPoE. What I ment by the
internet statement was, if we were having problems with our PPPoE which
we don't have, the users wouldn't be able to connect to the Internet
either. They would have the same connection issue.


You're still missing/ignoring my point. If the symptom is intermittent
it has a probabilistic cause. Hence, one user may see it while another
user on a different machine or even a different user on the same machine
may not, simply due to minor differences in timing with each case.

Also, I'm not sure that saying you are using "a fibre line" really helps
as far as knowing what protocols are being used. That's why I cross-posted
this from the IE NG. If you're not prepared to do some tracing
I don't have any more ideas for you.


Good luck

Robert
---