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We installed SBS 2011 (Sharepoint 2010) a couple of years ago and it's running fine. We never used Sharepoint features.

Now we wanted to explore Workflow features so I went to http://sites and logged in as a Sharepoint administrator (successfully).

My problem is that whenever I need to go into the web-based Sharepoint Designer, I get an error. The designer is active on the server, it should be available at https://sites:987, but I always get Connection reset when I browse to that address.

I even tried momentarily bringing down the Server Firewall to check if it was a firewall problem, but the same thing happens...

A distinctive circumstance of this server is that it is not connected to the Internet(that's a company requirement, I can connect occasionally for updates, but not permanently). I've been told this shouldn't be a problem for what I'm trying to do.

Can you please advise, and help me troubleshoot? Thank you.

pgr
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  • Are any events logged in the Windows Event logs when you try to load the web-based SharePoint designer? If so, please include them in your question. – I say Reinstate Monica Feb 09 '15 at 16:39
  • Sorry, nothing. I checked these logs: Windows\Application, Windows\Security, Windows\System, Microsoft\Sharepoint_Products\\*, Microsoft\Windows_Small_Business_Server\\*. – pgr Feb 09 '15 at 17:25
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    I find it very stranged that nothing is getting logged. There must be something in some IIS log that I don't know of... – pgr Feb 09 '15 at 17:25
  • Are any related SharePoint events logged when the server is booted? – I say Reinstate Monica Feb 09 '15 at 19:01
  • I was able to reboot the server and I can't see anything too suspicious in the Event Logs. – pgr Feb 10 '15 at 17:43
  • See if you need to install a patch for SharePoint as directed here: http://blogs.technet.com/b/sbs/archive/2011/05/24/you-must-manually-run-psconfig-after-installing-sharepoint-2010-patches.aspx – I say Reinstate Monica Feb 11 '15 at 02:24
  • I am familiar with the need to run `psconfig` after upgrades, and I just checked and my server is fine regarding that. – pgr Feb 11 '15 at 10:17
  • Ok, good. You noted this server isn't typically connected to the Internet. Are all of the latest updates installed? – I say Reinstate Monica Feb 11 '15 at 13:01
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    I connect monthly for updates. I think it has all the updates up to mid-January, and will soon be getting the latest. – pgr Feb 11 '15 at 13:21
  • 1) Are any log files modified anywhere in the `C:\Program Files\Windows Small Business Server\Logs` folder structure when you try to access SharePoint Designer? 2) Have you tried accessing the Designer from different workstations/OSes/Browsers? – I say Reinstate Monica Feb 11 '15 at 19:39
  • *We never used Sharepoint features*... You may also want to consider [repairing or reinstalling SharePoint on SBS2011](https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg680310.aspx) – I say Reinstate Monica Feb 11 '15 at 19:45
  • @Twisty: thanks for your help. I tried 3 different OS's, and several browsers on each. I also tried IE on the server itself, and it still doesn't show anything. The logs you mention don't show anything new when I try to connect. – pgr Feb 12 '15 at 18:57
  • I guess I could go reinstalling Sharepoint (I wouldn't need to rebuild any data), but I'm afraid I might break something, it feels risky. This is a live server though it is virtualized so I could snapshot it. But I would prefer if I could avoid the downtime and get some more directed solution (like actually tracing the request through its steps to know where it is breaking). – pgr Feb 12 '15 at 19:00

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Microsoft provides a helpful guide on TechNet for repairing SharePoint Foundation 2010 on Windows Small Business Server 2011. You can complete the following repair steps without deleting any existing data:

  1. Repair the SharePoint Foundation 2010 Domain Name System
  2. Repair user access to the internal website
  3. Repair user access to SharePoint Foundation 2010

If these repair attempts fail, your next step is to Recreate your SharePoint Foundation 2010 application and content database. This step is more invasive but still leaves you with your own data, as noted in the article:

This topic describes the steps necessary to repair the Windows SBS SharePoint web application and content database. If you experience problems with a different SharePoint Foundation 2010 web application, you can follow the steps in this topic to repair the content database for that application.

This is a lot of work to save content you've never created. If I were in your shoes I'd jump right to the end and Reinstall SharePoint Foundation 2010. No, you don't walk away knowing exactly what broke your old environment, but you will probably save yourself a lot of time chasing an answer that may never be found anyway.

I say Reinstate Monica
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  • This means hours of work, and off work hours, I will try to avoid it. It is a "blind" solution to a problem that I thought was very simple. But if nobody gives any better solution, maybe the problem is not that simple! :-) I will award the points to you at the end of the bounty period if nothing better comes along. Once again, thanks for all your efforts. – pgr Feb 13 '15 at 09:52
  • I completely understand and would also search for a direct solution as you are doing. It would be great if you find one, but if not, this is likely what you'll have to do. – I say Reinstate Monica Feb 13 '15 at 12:28