Lync 2013 PowerPoint presentation fails to load when using Windows 8.1 Operating System

I haven't blogged for a while now but this issue came up this week and will start to cause problems for users as they start to migrate to Windows 8.1.

Issue:

This issue only affects Lync 2013 clients installed on Windows 8.1 and specifically the PowerPoint presentation sharing via Office Web Apps.  When attempting to upload a slide deck for presentation, the user will be faced by a continual Loading notification eventually (if they wait that long) ending in an error:

This is due to an identified issue with the Office Web Apps 2013 application.

Workaround:

The workaround for this is to either use the Lync Web App which does not seem to be affected, even when using Internet Explorer 11 installed on Windows 8.1 or if another machine running a Windows 8 or Windows 7 with a Lync 2013 client installed is  available, this will also work.

Resolution:

Microsoft has released a hotfix for this issue which can be downloaded here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2837634/en-us

Please note that to install this hotfix, it will be necessary to remove the Office Web Apps machine from the farm and ultimately recreate the farm once the hotfix is installed.

This example was used to update a 2 node load balanced pool with the following details:

• Node 1 name - OwaNode1.lynctest.com
• Node 2 name - OwaNode1.lynctest.com
• Farm Name - officewebapps.lynctest.com

The following process can be used to update this 2 node farm:

• Log in to OwaNode1.lynctest.com with an administrative account
• Launch PowerShell
• Run the command 'Remove-OfficeWebAppsMachine'
• Install the patch KB287634
• Reboot the server and log in
• Set up a new farm on the node using a command: 
• 'New-OfficeWebAppsFarm -InternalURL 'https://officewebapps.lynctest.com' -ExternalURL 'https://officewebapps.lynctest.com'  -CertificateName OWACertFriendlyName'
• Log in to OwaNode2.lynctest.com with an administrative account
• Launch PowerShell
• Run the command 'Remove-OfficeWebAppsMachine'
• Install the patch KB287634
• Reboot the server and log in
• Join the machine to the farm using the command:
• New-OfficeWebAppsMachine –MachineToJoin 'OwaNode1.lynctest.com'

For this example, I am using split-brain DNS and re-using the existing certificate, the farm is also only used for Lync and so you may need to adjust the parameters and switches accordingly for your environment.

Please see here for more information on updating OWA: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj966220.aspx