MS CRM 4.0 Can Not Go Offline - An Unknown Error Has Occurred

PROBLEM:
  • MS CRM 4.0 Outlook 07 Client cannot go offline (and may also have problems going online), throwing error "An unknown error has occurred. Retry the action. If the problem persists, contact your system administrator". 
  • If you close and re-open Outlook, you might see: "An error occurred loading Microsoft Dynamics CRM functionality. Try restarting Microsoft Outlook. Contact your system administrator if errors persist." 
  • You may see data in CRM (such as in the accounts list) or an Internet Explorer error "This program cannot display the webpage" when using the Outlook 07 client. 
  • You can successfully use the web client. 
  • None of the rollups fix the problem 
  • Client is running Windows Vista with Windows Defender 
  • Problem can occur whether or not you have upgraded client from version 3.0 


SOLUTION THAT WORKED FOR ME:

Check your hosts file, located in %windir%\system32\drivers\etc

The hosts file should have at least two entries if running Vista:

127.0.0.1 localhost

::1 localhost
The first entry is the IPv4 entry and the second is the IPv6 entry.
Microsoft released a bad Windows Defender update that removed the IPv4 entry from the hosts file of some computers and since CRM 4.0 relies on that entry, the client could not find the internal database that ran CRM while offline.

Add the IPv4 entry back into the hosts file and CRM should work again (may take a few minutes).

If you get a permission error while trying to fix your hosts file or don't know how to modify it, refer to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923947/en-us

For more information about the Windows Defender issue, read http://www.h-online.com/security/Windows-Defender-False-alarm-triggered-by-hosts-file--/news/112814



OTHER POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS:
  • Try the CRM Diagnostics program, especially if you have trouble going online after trying to go offline. You might have to time it so that you start the diagnostics scan just after you open Outlook. 
  • Stop or unload any anti-virus programs or firewalls and try to go offline 
  • The user may not have been assigned a role in CRM with read (and possibly) write permissions on Business Management à User Settings and / or Core Records à Saved View. Refer http://support.microsoft.com/kb/948311/en-us for further info. 
  • If you have assigned the user a custom role created from scratch, try assigning one of the original system roles and un-applying all other roles. If this works, create a new role by copying from an existing system role instead of creating one from scratch, and re-entering the desired permissions. 
  • In Internet Options, try putting the URL for CRM in the trusted sites zone and making Internet Explorer the default browser. 
  • The following has a host of other issues that could result in the same message http://support.microsoft.com/kb/911384/en-us
  • Try installing the latest rollup. Information on all the latest hotfixes and rollups is located here http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949256/en-us
  • If you're installing a German language version, try http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947505/en-us
  • Common troubleshooting steps now located here: http://blogs.msdn.com/crm/archive/2009/05/29/troubleshooting-the-microsoft-dynamics-crm-client-for-outlook.aspx
If you are feeling masochistic, uninstall/reinstall CRM Client:
If none of these work, call Microsoft Support, as it could be some hitherto unknown thing that will commit you to an insane asylum if you try to figure it out alone.

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