With one whole day of using, playing and tinkering with the new Windows10 Technical Preview – I have nothing but nice things to say about it. It’s great(ish) 🙂
Well… that is not quite accurate as I have hit one or two niggling problems… but here is the solution to the main finger biter:
SHREWSOFT VPN FAILS TO CONNECT
Problem
Shrewsoft VPN 2.2.2 reported “network not available” and would not connect to remote VPN
Solution
Easy… just re-install the VPN Software from https://www.shrew.net/download/vpn
CISCO: Failed to initialize connection subsystem
Problem
Cisco AnyConnect reported “Failed to initialize connection subsystem” and would not connect to remote VPN
Solution
OK, so this one is a little trickier to fix as a simple re-installation did not fix the problem. I read a few different sources from the web and finally found a straightforward solution. I am going to place the blame at Cisco’s feet but also blame Microsoft as well… shame on you both! I want you both to go and sit on the naughty step!!!!
Basically, it seems that the most recent iteration of Internet Exploder Explorer has removed a setting that allowed you to specify if you were offline or online; it now defaults to offline. The Cisco Anyconnect software seems to look at this setting and doesnt even bother attempting to connect if it indicates you are offline.
The fix is simple – make a small change to your windows Registry to lie tell Cisco that you are online and to attempt to connect
You need to use REGEDIT to change your registry at
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings and add a new key of GlobalUserOffline with a value of ‘1’
This is how easy it is:
Now it’s time for some serious RPG programming 😉
UPDATE OCTOBER 20 2014
Courtesy of a comment on Youtube (Thanks “Thy Clouds”) another route to fix this problem has been suggested:
1. Right click VPNUI in the Cisco install folder. (I have it in “C:\Program Files (x86)\Cisco\Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client\”
2. Choose Troubleshoot compatibility.
3. The wizard suggests win8 compatibility.
4. The “test program does not work” since the program may be running. Just add the configuration. (It did work for me)
5. Restart the VPN service. (No need for me, worked after the compatibility mode fix)
6. Start AnyConnect from the start meny.
7. Working.Now, the registry problem has worked great for me, but if it reapears, possibly as results of service pack or beta release then I will try this next and report back.