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something is really wrong with my Windows 8. I have a VPN connection for my company that can't be deleted.
I can also not add any new VPN connections. And when I try to connect to the one configured it just hangs. Not even the username password input fiellds are opening.
What could cause this? The only thing I recently changed was turning off Hyper-V because VirtualBox has problems with Hyper-V beeing turned on.
Any clue?
spankmaster79
Posted 2015-03-19T14:29:38.513
Reputation: 103
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The problem is explained in the article Windows 8.1 VPN Connection Freeze/Failure :
I had a problem recently on Windows 8.1 where trying to create a VPN connection would just cause the Windows interface to freeze and no connection made. After clicking connect, a number of different WAN Miniport adapters appear in Device manager under Network adapters (they may also be visible by clicking View > Show hidden devices) with yellow exclamation marks. They are mostly different types of VPN connections such as PPTP and L2TP. The way to fix them is to uninstall and then reinstall the devices - unfortunately, they aren't as easy to remove as normal devices and do not allow you to uninstall.
One way for fixing a miniport is to change its driver, thus converting it to a device that can be removed:
- Open Device Manager and expand Network adapters (maybe needs Show hidden devices).
- Right click on the non-working miniport and choose "Update Driver".
- Choose "Browse my computer".
- On the next page, choose "Let me pick driver from a list".
- Uncheck "Show compatible hardware".
- From the Manufacturer list, select "Microsoft", and from the "Network Adapter" list choose any driver that will allow it to be uninstalled (example "Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter").
- Now you can right click on the device it just created and click uninstall.
One can also do the above much easier by using the Wan miniport repair tool (try version 2 first) :
How to use it (Windows 8):
- run Wan miniport repair tool (or version 2)
- restart computer
- run Wan miniport installer
- restart computer and enjoy fully working Dial-up and VPN access again.
Manual for Windows 8.1:
- run version 2
- restart computer
- click 'network' icon and and wait a few minutes. Other steps shouldn't be necessary.
If You still use 32-bit Windows, use following links: Wan miniport repair tool (32bit) (or version 2 (32bit)) and Wan miniport installer (32bit).
harrymc
Posted 2015-03-19T14:29:38.513
Reputation: 306 093
When you attempt to delete the VPN connection, what happens exactly? – Ramhound – 2015-03-19T14:36:01.033
@Ramhound dialogue opens if I want to delete the connection and then it closes and nothing happens – spankmaster79 – 2015-03-19T14:47:47.270
Have you tried deleting the connection in both PC Settings and Network Connections (more info)? Another way is to go to "C:\Users%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Network\Connections\Pbk" and delete the file "rasphone.pbk" (better keep a backup).
– harrymc – 2015-03-23T19:02:12.170@harrymc when I delete it in PC Settings it is removed. Then if I reopen it is still there and I can't delete it. I can't even delete it in Network Connections. I do not have a Microsoft folder under \Roaming – spankmaster79 – 2015-03-24T07:43:11.647
Check for hidden folders under Roaming. Try checking Windows integrity by using sfc /scannow. Just in case, do also some antivirus scans by at least a couple of such products.
– harrymc – 2015-03-24T08:04:09.057I did a sfc /scannow yesterday. Nothing suspicious. Or anything I could follow. Found the folder _hiddenPBK with "rasphone.pbk" in it and delted it. Still there. And I got a message RAS Service could not be started – spankmaster79 – 2015-03-24T08:15:11.327
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Typing "vpn" at the Start screen supposedly lets one remove VPN connections (see this article). Check also for broken miniports, where the Wan miniport repair tool could be useful.
– harrymc – 2015-03-24T20:17:16.787@harrymc thx. The broken miniports seemed to be it. Used the repairt tool and everything works again. Now if you form an answer I can reward you!!! – spankmaster79 – 2015-03-25T08:18:49.550