Connect To Shared Folder When Connected To VPN

I have a shared folder on my home network which mounts fine and I can access with no problem. However, once I connect to my VPN (which I must use for work) - I loose access to any shared resources on my LAN, printers, shared folders etc.

Is there a way I can connect to my work VPN and still have access to my shared folders & printers?

user2676140

Posted 2016-03-03T16:33:01.350

Reputation: 1 629

Confirm that your VPN allows "Split Tunneling", and enable the feature. It allows your PC to use Routing table entries to only send traffic destined for the network on the other side of the VPN through the VPN adapter, and to send any unrelated traffic out the standard adapter. This depends on your local networking using a different IP address range than the network you are VPNing into and may confuse DNS a bit, so consider setting a Connection-Specific DNS server. Note that this will not work if you want unspecified traffic to take the VPN, as people who use VPNs for privacy do. – Frank Thomas – 2016-03-03T16:59:10.637

Answers

I've seen the exact same issue when connecting to a private network i used to support. Check the configuration of the VPN connection. The default configuration is "Use default gateway on remote network". Since the remote network does not know how to get to your local resources or resolve the names, you PC fails to connect.

This is an old article but describes the same behavior: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/317025

If you are using the Windows 7 VPN client - Open the properties of the VPN connection, select the Networking tab and Properties if the "internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)" connection - Click the Advanced button and on the "IP Settings" tab uncheck the "Use Default gateway on remote network" box.

Rod

Posted 2016-03-03T16:33:01.350

Reputation: 46

You may need to re-map the drive when connecting to VPN. perhaps try creating a batch file with the text net use "your drive:/".

You may even be able to find a way to auto-run the batch file whenever you connect to VPN. I know Access Connections by Lenovo can do this since we use it here at my office.

You will also need to ensure that you have connections to both your home network and your VPN active. If you are only using the VPN, you may be unable to access your home network.

Jacob K

Posted 2016-03-03T16:33:01.350

Reputation: 503