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MS-Windows Troubleshooting


Error 778: It was not possible to verify the identity of the server


Symptom:

When trying to establish a VPN connection to a computer, the connection fails and the following error is displayed:

Error 778: It was not possible to verify the identity of the server.

Possible Causes and Remedies:

  • This error can indicate a problem verifying the identity of the account used to establish the connection.
    • A review of any messages logged in the Application log on the server may help to identify the precise nature of the problem.
    • When I encountered this error there was a corresponding message in the event log on the server:
      Type: Warning
      Event ID: 20189
      The user domain\user connected from ip-address but failed an authentication attempt due to the following reason: The user must change his or her password.

      The solution in this event was to reset the user's password on the server and ask them to connect using the newly reset password.


These notes have been tested with clients running Windows 7 and with a VPN server on Windows 2003 Server, and they may also apply to other versions of Windows.



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