Nortel VPN Client (Vista) Connection Lost
Greetings, I am having a problem connecting via VPN to my work. I have read many of the posts on this site and tried some of the suggestions. Unfortunately I still cannot connect. Below is a summary of situation. First, I have a laptop running MS XP svc pack 2 and using Nortel Client (XP) version as directed by my organization. I also have Zone Alarm Internet Security running. The laptop is connected via wireless to a Lynksys Wireless-G Broadband router model WRT54G hardware version 6 with the newest firmware installed. I have no problems with this set up connecting via VPN to work. Here's the problem child: I just purchased a new desktop for home with the following set up. OS = Vista Premium Loaded the new Nortel Client for Vista offorganization Ftp Site (version 6.07.26 I think) I also tried the .27 version with same problem) Running Zone Alarm Internet Security Using the the same router as above. For some reason though I cannot get fully connect onthe Vista desktop. I get to a point where the application is checking for the Banner Text and then it seems to timeout. Then I get a message that says if a firewall is enabled that I need to allow outgoing traffic on UDP port 4500. I first set the zone alarm configs to allow for UDP port 4500 outgoing and still had same result. I disabled Zone alarm completely (windows firewall too) and still get the same message. I configured my router to allow port forwarding on UDP 4500 and still get the same problem (I might be doing this wrong though and cant seem to find any good examples with explanations to help). Funny thing is, on the laptop I didnt have to configure anything on Zone Alarm or the router. It worked right away. Actually, even messing with the router while troubleshooting Vista machine, the XP laptop still connects everytime. I checked other forums where they mention to enable protocols 50 and 51. My understanding though is when IPSEC is enabled on the router, then protocols 50 and 51 are enabled also. I have VPN settings IPSEC, PPTP, L2PP all enabled on the router. I have tried to connect by disabling these VPN settings too. I cannot find anywhere on the router to check ifprotocols 50 and 51 are enabled. It seems no matter what the config is that I use, I still get the same issue of being able to connect, but not getting past the checking for banner text. I've searched the internet and have tried some configs others have had success with, but no luck on my end. My current thought is, if the laptop running XP can connect through the same router, then the router settings are correct. However, with the Vista machine I can connect to the VPN server, but when the tunneling process is being created/checked with the "Banner Text" message, the connection drops after a few seconds. This leads me to think the Vista OS might be the culprit. Does anyone think there might be an issue with Vista and the way it redirects packets through TCP???? Any suggestions or solutions are most welcome. ScottJ
January 17th, 2008 6:17pm

Hi Scott, Thank you for the post. Before we go further, I would like to confirm the following points with you: 1. Are you using L2TP? 2. What device is being used as a VPN Server? 3. What authentication method is being used? 4. Have you tried to set up the VPN connection with the Windows Vista built-in wizard? How does it work? In addition, Ive included the following article for your reference: Troubleshooting Vista VPN problems http://blogs.technet.com/rrasblog/archive/2007/04/08/troubleshooting-vista-vpn-problems.aspx Hope it helps. I look forward to your reply. Sincerely, Joson Zhou Microsoft Online Community Support
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January 21st, 2008 12:26pm

Hi Joson, Thanks for the reply. I'll see if I can find out some answers to your questions, but I will offer what I can at this point and get back this threadlater. 1. Are you using L2TP? I am not completely sure, but I have my Linksys router enabled for VPN passthrough for IPSEC, PPTP, L2TP. I will check with my organization network techs to be sure of which one we use. 2. What device is being used as a VPN Server? Not sure. The server is controlled by the organization. I will check with my organization network techs to get more info 3. What authentication method is being used? We use an ActivCard to authenticate when logging in. I will try to gather more specific information if available. 4. Have you tried to set up the VPN connection with the Windows Vista built-in wizard? How does it work? No, havent tried to use the wizard. We have specific instructions to use Nortel VPN Client for Vista (I think version 6.07.26. I also tried version 6.07.27) with specific authentication options selected in the VPN client application. Stay tuned for additional information. Thanks. ScottJ
January 24th, 2008 12:28am

Hi Scott, Thank you for your update. Please understand that we are not quite familiar with the third party program and thus I suggest trying to set up the VPN connection with the Windows Vista built-in wizard to narrow down the issue. I look forward to your reply. Have a nice day. Sincerely, Joson Zhou Microsoft Online Community Support
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January 24th, 2008 12:08pm

Joson, Below are answers to your previous questions. 1. Are you using L2TP? No, we are using IPSEC 2. What device is being used as a VPN Server? Nortel Contivity 2600 3. What authentication method is being used? Radius one-time-password tokens I read some other posts on this forum related to similar situation. So far I havent read anything indicating that someone has it working. Thanks for the assistance and being a sounding board to bounce things around. Still trying though. ScottJ
January 24th, 2008 6:53pm

I am having the exact same problem. I could connect fine using XP through my linksys WRT-100 router. I bought a new laptop with Vista Home Premium using Nortel VPN Client (Vista Compatible Version). I get the port 4500 error. I have turned off Windows Firewall and Zonealarm and even bypassed the router going straight to my cable modem and still couldn't connect. Let me know if you find out anything.
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January 31st, 2008 8:34pm

Hi Clopez, Ah, I finally have someone else experiencing the same issue. So far I'm at a dead end. I did find some other forums that mention settings on the VPN server that should be made for Vista users. I just dont know if my organization will make any chages to the server. I will post any results that are successful. Good luck on your end.
February 1st, 2008 6:30pm

Well, I was able to solve this issue on my PC finally. I ended up using the recovery manager to restore the factory image on my laptop. That fixed everything. My system got to the point where I could not get to the internet through any programs exceptIE and firefoxwhich included HP games, any other online game, as well as VPN. I think all those issues were interrelated. I had the follwing software on my system. I think Vista doesn't like one of these programs (at least the version I installed) and severely broke my PC: Openoffice.org Zonealarm Symantec Antivirus
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February 5th, 2008 6:27pm

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