OpenVPN connection issue on Windows Vista and Windows 7

 

Problem

When connecting to an OpenVPN tunnel on Windows Vista or Windows 7, the OpenVPN GUI shows the connection as successful, but the protected network can not be reached.

Solution

Start OpenVPN as administrator. This is necessary even of the account launching OpenVPN is an administrator level account. If the OpenVPN GUI is already running, quit the application. Before launching OpenVPN GUI, right click, and select “Run As Administrator”.

There is a way to make this permanent in the Windows application properties:

Right click on the OpenVPN GUI icon, then click on Properties, and on the Compatibility tab. Tick the “Run this program as an administrator box.”