Windows 10: Windows 10 refuses to install any TAP network adapters

System specs are at the bottom of this message.


I've tried installing IPVanish, and LogMeIn Hamachi.


IPVanish installs just fine, but if I try to install the OpenVPN network adapter, it fails every single time, making it so I can't use the OpenVPN protocol.


LogMeIn Hamachi installs fine, but never installs the LogMeIn Virtual Ethernet Adapter, which also fails a manual install. This failure prevents me from using LogMeIn Hamachi at all.


Both of these network adapters are TAP network adapters, which tells me that Windows is refusing to allow me to install TAP network adapters. Considering this Windows install is less than a month old, I'd like to avoid resetting/reinstalling Windows to correct the problem, but any help would be greatly appreciated.


Desktop

System: Custom Desktop PC
Motherboard: ROG STRIX Z390-F Gming LGA1151
Primary OS: Windows 10 Professional 64-bits 1909
Secondary OS: Pop!_OS 20.04 Not applicable for this issue
CPU: Intel Core i5-9600KF @ 3.70GHz 6-cores, no hyperthreading
RAM: 32GB Dual Channel
Graphics: NVidia GeForce GTX 1080 8GB
Drivers: NVidia GeForce drivers 445.87 Windows
Sound: RealTech HD Audio
Display 1 Secondary: HP 1080p Monitor
Display 2 Primary: Vizio 43" 4k UHD Home Theater Display If streaming, or gaming, this display is set to 1080p, and used for games, while OBS related items are shown on Display 1 also in 1366x768p
Display 3 Handicapped primary: Samsung 1080p HDTV Used in place of Display 2, if needed
Network type: Wi-Fi/Ethernet Interchangeable, but almost exclusively Ethernet with gigabit speeds
Storage Space: LOTS
Control type: Keyboard, Mouse, and X-Box One S Wireless Controller for Windows via USB

:)

 

Uninstall TAP Windows Adapter V9

SOLVED

• Step 1: Download OpenVPN and install with ALL features from HERE : Community Downloads | OpenVPN
• Step 2: Open CMD.exe as administrator and go to the file location of "C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\bin" or whatever that turns out to be.
• Step 3: Follow the "Installing and uninstalling TAP-drivers" section from the website
  
  HERE : ManagingWindowsTAPDrivers – OpenVPN Community
• OR JUST READ BELOW
• Step 4: How to get the <id> for the next section:
  • Go to Network Connections
  • Right click the TAP device you want to remove
  • Click Properties
  • Click Details
  • Using the drop-down menu, get the Hardware ID
    • This is usually something like: tapoes, tap0901 etc
• Step 5: Remove those suckers by typing the following into CMD: tapinstall.exe remove (ID from step 4)
  • it should look something like this below:

• Step 6: If you have devices that were not removed, repeat Steps 4-5 for all TAP adapters
• Step 7: Restart!
• Step 8: Uninstall OpenVPN and you're all set!

Supplementary information from the site:

Occasionally you may need play with different TAP-driver versions. In this case you can use devcon.exe from the Windows command-prompt. Below are some common commands you can run from an administrator Powershell
or cmd.exe console:

List available TAP-Windows adapters:

List network interfaces (incl. TAP-Windows adapters):

View information about an installed driver:

Uninstall a TAP-driver:

To verify TAP-driver removal:

Install a new TAP-driver:

Update a TAP-driver:

Notes:

• <id> refers to the driver identifier which is tap0901 for OpenVPN 2.2+, but may be different in older/newer OpenVPN versions.
• <something.inf> is typically OemWin2k.inf (old tap-drivers) or OemVista.inf (newer tap-drivers). You need to specify the full path to this file, e.g.C:\Program Files\TAP-Windows\driver\OemVista.inf.

By installing multiple times, you will create additional TAP-Windows adapter instances, which can be used for multiple concurrent VPN tunnels. It is also possible to install using Control Panel -> Add New Hardware,
and it is possible to uninstall using Control Panel -> System -> Hardware -> Device Manager.

 

Install a driver for your network adapter

Go to the list of network adapters in the control panel, turn of the lan and turn it on again. See if that helps.

 

network adapters

Hi, Michael.



Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Community.

As per my understanding, you may be facing an issue with your driver updates.

I suggest that you perform the steps mentioned below and check if it helps you resolve your issue.



Method 1: Network troubleshooting

• • • On the search bar type “Troubleshooting”
    • Click on “Network and Internet”
    • Click on “Network Adapter” and run the troubleshooter.

Method 2: Download and install the latest firmware updates for the Network adapter

Follow these steps to un-install the drivers:

• On the search bar type “ Device Manager”
• On the left pane locate “Network Adapter” and expand by clicking on it
• Right on the “ Network driver” option and click “Uninstall’
• Download the latest Wireless network adapter driver setup file from the manufacturer’s website and install it.

Your reply is very important for us to ensure a proper resolution. Please get back to us with the above information in order to assist you accordingly.

For further assistance, you can post your query in Microsoft Community