PRB: Troubleshooting "Unable to Contact Web Server" in Visual InterDev (220166)

RESOLUTION

1. The Web server is not running. Test basic Web server functionality by browsing to a test .htm and .asp page. If the pages are not served up correctly, troubleshoot IIS or Personal Web Server installation.
2. Verify the FrontPage Server Extensions are installed. Browse to http://<server name>/_vti_bin/shtml.dll. You should see one of the two error messages shown below:

   FrontPage 2000 Server Extensions:

   Cannot run the FrontPage Server Extensions' Smart HTML interpreter on this non-HTML page: ""

   -or-
   
   FrontPage 98 Server Extensions:

   FrontPage Error. User: please report details to this site's webmaster. Webmaster: please see the server's application event log for more details.
   If you do not get the above messages, the FrontPage Server Extensions have not been installed. Download the latest version from the following Web page:

   http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnservext/html/fpse02win.asp

3. Verify the version of the FrontPage Server Extensions. Browse http://<server name>/_vti_inf.html. You should see a page with the heading "FrontPage Configuration Information." View the source of this page. The version of the FrontPage Server Extensions appears after "FPVersion=". The recommended version of the FrontPage Server Extensions is at least 4.0.2.2717. To download the most recent version go to the following Web page:

   http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnservext/html/fpse02win.asp

4. Check the Server Extensions for proper installation:
   
   When using FrontPage 2000 server extensions, open the MMC, right-click Default Web Site or the appropriate Web site, and select All Tasks. If you see Configure Server Extensions, this indicates that the Web site does not have the server extensions enabled. Choose this option to launch a wizard to walk you through the steps.
   
   If you see Check Server Extensions, then the extensions have been installed on the Web site. Choose this option to start a diagnostic program that will analyze the Web site and fix common issues.
   
   If you do not see an All Tasks item when right clicking the Web site, then either the FrontPage 2000 extensions have not been installed on this computer, or the 'Snap-In' to the MMC for the extensions was not enabled during setup. Install the extensions from the link above if appropriate. To enable the extension's Snap-In, click Console on the menu in the Internet Information Services Manager.
   
   Note: If on Windows 2000, close the Internet Information Services Manager, and right click Internet Services Manager icon in the Administrators group, and choose Author to enable the Console menu. Click Add/Remove Snap-In menu item. On the Extensions tab, ensure there is a check in the box for FrontPage Server Extensions You should now be able to both Configure and then Check Server Extensions.
   
   For all Knowledge Base articles on Visual InterDev and FrontPage Server Extensions, search the on the keywords kbFrontPage and kbServer and kbVisID600.
   
   
5. Proxy server issue: If you are developing on a local LAN, and do not need to access a Web server outside a proxy or firewall, turn off proxy settings. To do this, select Options from the Visual InterDev Tools menu. Select Projects and Web Proxy Settings. Clear the Use system settings check box. Proxy servers can interfere with Windows NT Challenge/Response authentication used to handle design time security. For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   195954 PRB: 'Unable to Contact Web Server' Error Creating New Project

6. Client libraries issue: A DLL used by Visual InterDev may have become unregistered. From the Start menu, click Run and type the following line:

   Regsvr32 C:\<Your Windows Folder>\System\FP30wec.dll
   							

   You should see a confirmation that the file was registered successfully. Start Visual InterDev and try creating a project. For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   218167 PRB: Visual InterDev Is Not Installed Correctly on This Computer

7. Check TCP/IP: The TCPTest utility installs with the FrontPage Server Extensions 2000 and is used to check basic WinSock32 functionality. The TCPTest utility can be found at the following location on your computer:

   Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\40\bin\tcptest.exe
   						

8. DNS or port issue: When prompted for the server name in step 1 of the Web Project Wizard, enter the Web servers IP address in the following format ServerIP:PortNumber as in the following example:

   157.54.123.41:80
   							

   If this works, then there is a problem with DNS resolution on your network. If the Web server was set up by an administrator on a non-standard port (80 is the default for HTTP), then ensure you are entering the correct port.
9. Personal Web Server issue: Personal Web Server on Window 95 or Windows 98 does not support remote FrontPage Server Extensions connections. Visual InterDev and Personal Web Server must be installed on the same computer. Also, the recommended version of Personal Web Server for use with Visual InterDev is 4.x and is located in the NTOPTPAK folder on the Visual Studio or Visual InterDev CDs. Uninstall prior versions of Personal Web Server (1.0 or 1.0a) and install from the Visual Studio CD. Personal Web Server 4.x can also be downloaded from the following Web site:

   http://www.microsoft.com/NTWorkstation/downloads/Recommended/ServicePacks/NT4OptPk/Default.asp

10. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) issue: Visual InterDev can connect to the Web server using SSL, but is limited to 40-bit encryption (128 bit is not supported). If the Web server is set to require 128-bit encryption, the connection fails. Also, Visual InterDev recognizes server certificates from the following certificate authorities only:
    • Verisign-Secure Server Certification Authority
    • RSA Data Security, Inc.
    • AT&T-Certificate Services
    • AT&T-Directory Services
    For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    238662 INFO:Using Visual InterDev and Secure Sockets Layer

11. Verify that the _vti_bin virtual directory found in your web site has execute permissions set to Scripts and Executables on Windows 2000. On NT 4.0 set the the permissions to Execute(including script). Set the execute permissions by right-clicking the _vti_bin folder in the Internet Services Manager and choosing Properties. In the resulting dialog box, set the execute permissions on the Virtual Directory tab.