ARCHIVED: In Windows, when attempting to connect to the IU VPN server, what can I do about error 619?

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Note:

For off-campus connections to the IU network, use the recommended SSL VPN.

IU Secure is the wireless network for students, faculty, and staff to access on all campuses. IU Secure uses WPA2 Enterprise (Wi-Fi Protected Access) for authentication and encryption.

When you attempt to make a VPN connection to the Indiana University network in Windows, you might receive one of the following errors:

Error 619: The specified port is not connected.

Error 619: The port is disconnected.

To fix the problem, reboot your computer and any network or Internet devices. If you have a cable or DSL modem, or a router, switch, or hub, unplug its power cable and wait 10 seconds before plugging it back in. Then try to connect to the VPN server again. If that doesn't work, try powering down your cable or DSL modem for several minutes before attempting to connect.

If that fails, try manually re-configuring the VPN settings (i.e., create and configure a new VPN icon).

If you continue to receive error 619 after powering down and back up, try reinstalling TCP/IP.

For help, see Microsoft Support.

Advanced troubleshooting

The following technical details provide additional explanation for error 619.

When you receive the error, it means the VPN program on your computer cannot negotiate a connection with the VPN server. Possible sources of the problem include the following:

Home firewall or router: A firewall or improperly configured router may be blocking VPN traffic. Nearly all of today's home and small business routers allow VPN traffic by default, so for the individual user on a cable or DSL connection, this possibility is rare, but worth checking. If you use PPTP, you should specifically check any setting dealing with port 1723 (sometimes written as "TCP/1723", "1723/TCP", or "TCP 1723"). If you use IPsec, pay attention to settings for IP/51, TCP/51, and UDP/500.
Incorrect router configuration between your computer and the VPN server: If a network provider between your ISP and the VPN server accidentally misconfigured some of its equipment, your VPN traffic may be unintentionally blocked or mishandled. Unfortunately, this is extremely difficult to diagnose, as many other points of failure must be eliminated beforehand. Even if it is the problem, you can do very little other than contacting your ISP, who in turn can only contact that "upstream" provider.
Bad traffic: A malicious user may be hammering many computers on your network with traffic to that port. It could be a denial-of-service attack, or it could be excessive portscanning to detect vulnerabilities that is keeping legitimate traffic from reaching its destination. This is why it could be useful to shut down for several minutes; a portscanner that gets no response from an IP will most likely move on after a few minutes.
Corrupt networking software components: Connection settings in Windows occasionally lose their ability to communicate properly; the VPN icon actually represents more than a dozen individual components working together. If something disrupts those components (for example, spyware, which in some cases inserts components into the TCP/IP stack), the easiest way to fix the damage is to recreate the settings from the ground up.