Potential Solution(s) to TAP Driver Issues in Windows (Vista)

[DavidA 0]

Situation I encountrered:

 - AirVPN on Vista SP2 not working because Tap driver could not be installed.

 - OpenVPN client with AirVPN config not working for same reason.

 - No TAP drivers were shown in Manage Network Connections



I solved the problem by doing the two elements below. Either or both may have solved the issue (but I had done both before I retried the installation).


1) I Had previously installed / uninstalled Hotspot Shield (Anchorfree)

 - Stuff left in registry after uninstall

 - Files left in Windows/System32

 Fix

 - Go to Manage Network Connections -> Local Area Connection -> Properties and you will see the Hotspot Shield reference. Remove this.

 - Restarted just to sure

I now realise Anchorfree are just pushing malware. Avoid it. [EDIT by staff: confirmed. Bold by staff]



2) I noticed some people online talking about OpenVPN options I did not have, which seemed to related to TAP Driver issues in Windows

 Fix

 - Uninstalled TAP Driver previously installed by OpenVPN and uninstalled OpenVPN.

 - Installed old version of OpenVPN (OpenVPN 2.2.0 from 2011)

 - This installed correctly and the TAP driver was now shown in Manager Network Connections



AirVPN Client

 - Ran AirVPN client, but clicked 'Cancel' to upgrade OpenVPN

 - AirVPN client logged in and ran successfully

 

 

I hope this helps others with the same problem.