SOLVED: Exchange 2010 OWA Prompting for Login Credentials When Selecting OPTIONS, MORE OPTIONS for ECP

The Exchange Control Panel or ECP is the IIS virtual directory that provides an interface to change settings in the Outlook Web App (OWA).  It SHOULD open after you sign into OWA and click OPTIONS > MORE OPTIONS but instead sometimes it redirects you to the login page.  However if you cannot sign in to the ECP  you may have a minor problem with your security settings.  You may see the following:

The user name or password you entered isn’t correct. Try entering it again.

To confirm the ECP is your issue try to log into it directly by browsing to :  https://mail.YOURDOMAIN.com/ecp .  If you can’t sign in, read on:

Fortunately this is easy to correct:

1. On your Exchange Server launch IIS (be sure to right click and RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR)
2. Expand the SITES and click ECP
3. Make sure ANONYMOUS AUTHENTICATION is ENABLED
4. Make sure BASIC AUTHENTICATION is ENABLED
5. If  you are configured to NOT require users to enter their domain (like most companies), double click on BASIC AUTHENTICATION and enter the name of your domain in the DEFAULT DOMAIN field.  THIS IS THE STEP THAT I HAVE NOT READ IN ANY OTHER BLOG OR KBASE ARTICLE WHICH WAS THE ROOT OF MY ISSUE.
6. Make sure ALL of the other authentication types are set to DISABLED
7. Click START, type CMD, right click on CMD and select RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR, then type IISRESET

Try to log in and if you still have problems:

1. Start your EXCHANGE MANAGEMENT CONSOLE
2. Expand SERVER CONFIGURATION, CLIENT ACCCESS
3. Select your server (if you have more than one)
4. Double click OWA (DEFAULT WEB SITE) on the OUTLOOK WEB APP tab.
5. Ensure the USE FORMS-BASED AUTHENTICATION is enabled ( and if you want, select your domain when you choose the USER NAME ONLY radio button )
6. Click the EXCHANGE CONTROL PANEL tab
7. Select the USE FORMS-BASED AUTHENTICATION option under the AUTHENTICATION tab