Error message when you try to configure the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Client for Outlook: "The LDAP server is unavailable"

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Symptoms

When you try to configure the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Client for Microsoft Office Outlook, you receive the following error message:

The LDAP server is unavailable.

The error in the configuration log is as follows:

Error connecting to URL:  https://dev.crm.dynamics.com/XRMServices/2011/Discovery.svc  Exception: System.DirectoryServices.AccountManagement.PrincipalServerDownException: The server could not be contacted. ---> System.DirectoryServices.Protocols.LdapException: The LDAP server is unavailable.    at System.DirectoryServices.Protocols.LdapConnection.Connect()    at System.DirectoryServices.Protocols.LdapConnection.SendRequestHelper(DirectoryRequest request, Int32& messageID)    at System.DirectoryServices.Protocols.LdapConnection.SendRequest(DirectoryRequest request, TimeSpan requestTimeout)    at System.DirectoryServices.Protocols.LdapConnection.SendRequest(DirectoryRequest request)    at System.DirectoryServices.AccountManagement.PrincipalContext.ReadServerConfig(String serverName, ServerProperties& properties)

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Cause

This issue may occur in one of the following scenarios in which the LDAP query will fail:

(CRM Online) The user's computer is joined to a domain, and the user is logged in to the computer as a domain account. However, the DC is unavailable. (The user is off the domain.)
(CRM Online) The user is on the domain. However, they are in a multiple-domain environment in which the LDAP query service is on an inaccessible domain.
(On-Premise) The user has an IFD environment. However, their DC or LDAP query service is unavailable during the configuration.

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Resolution

This problem is fixed in Hotfix 2645912 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011.

Installation information

Windows Update Installation
Available December 13, 2011

To automatically install Hotfix 2645912 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, you can use Windows Update. You can also set Windows to automatically install recommended updates. This can address noncritical problems and help improve your computing experience. Optional updates are not downloaded or installed automatically.

To learn more about the kinds of updates that Microsoft publishes, visit the following Microsoft websites:

How to turn automatic updating on or off

How to change how Windows installs or notifies you about updates

To Install Hotfix 2645912 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 by using Windows Update, follow these steps:

Click Start, and then type Update in the Start Search box. In the list of results, click Windows Update.
In the navigation pane, click Check for updates, and then wait while Windows checks for the latest updates for your computer.
If you receive a message that states that important updates are available or that prompts you to review important updates, you can view and select the important updates to install.
In the list, click any important update for more information, click to select the check box for any updates that you want to install, and then click OK.
Click Install updates.
Read and accept the license terms, and then click Finish (if the update requires this action). If you are prompted for an administrator password, type the password. If you are prompted for a confirmation, provide the confirmation.

Manual installation

To manually install Hotfix 2645912 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, follow these steps:

Visit the following Microsoft Update catalog website:
http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/home.aspx
In the Search box, type 2645912, and then click Search.
Click Add to add the update to the basket.
Click Download.
Click Browse, specify the folder to which you want to download the update, and then click OK.
Click Continue, and then click I Accept to accept the Microsoft Software License Terms.
When the update is downloaded to the location that you specified, click Close.

For more information about the Microsoft Update catalog, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 323166How to download updates that include drivers and hotfixes from the Windows Update Catalog

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