When troubleshooting DirectAccess connectivity issues on Windows 8.x clients you may find the option to generate advanced troubleshooting logs missing. On Windows 8 clients, the Collect Logs button will be grayed out. On Windows 8.1 clients it will be missing altogether.

Windows 8

Windows 8.1

This issue is caused by not providing an e-mail address when configuring the DirectAccess server.

To resolve this issue, supply an e-mail address and apply the configuration. The e-mail address does not necessarily have to be valid. It simply has to be present in order to have the option to generate DirectAccess advanced troubleshooting logs. After the clients have updated their group policy, the option to collect advanced troubleshooting logs will be available.