In Windows 2000 or XP Professional, why is the option to create a VPN connection unavailable?

If the option to create a virtual private network (VPN) connection is not available in Windows 2000 or XP Professional, you may not have the Remote Access Connection Manager service running. (Typically the option appears grayed out when it's not available.) Additionally, in Windows XP Professional, Service Pack 1 (SP1) can sometimes conflict with the Remote Access Connection Manager. If you encounter problems (such as "Access denied" or "...failed to start" errors), remove and reinstall SP1 or upgrade to SP2.

To determine if the Remote Access Connection Manager service is running on your computer:

1. From the Start menu, select either Control Panel, or Settings and then Control Panel.
   
   
2. Double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Services.
   
   
3. Locate "Remote Access Connection Manager" in the list of services. In the "Status" column, if the word "Started" does not appear, then the service is not running, and you will need to follow the steps below to enable it.

   Note: The Remote Access Connection Manager service depends on the Telephony service to also be running. Locate "Telephony" in the list, and see if it also shows the word "Started" under "Status". If not, you must do the following steps for that service as well.

To enable the Remote Access Connection Manager (or Telephony):

1. Repeat steps 1 and 2 above to open the Services control panel.
   
   
2. Double-click Remote Access Connection Manager (or Telephony).
   
   
3. In the resulting dialog box, in the drop-down list next to "Startup type:", choose Automatic. (This will make the service automatically start whenever you turn on your computer.)
   
   
4. In the "Service status:" section, click Start.
   
   
5. Click OK, and then close the Services control panel.

The option to create a VPN connection should now be available.