TAP-Windows Adapter V9: What It Is and How to Fix It

Your VPN stopped working and you spotted “TAP-Windows Adapter V9” in Device Manager. That’s the virtual network driver your VPN depends on.

We’ve dealt with TAP adapter errors on three different Windows 10 and Windows 11 PCs over the past year, and the good news is that most fixes take under 5 minutes. Below, we’ll cover what this driver actually does, why it fails, and the exact steps to get it working again.

#What Is TAP-Windows Adapter V9?

TAP-Windows Adapter V9 is a software-based network interface that behaves like a physical network card. Your operating system treats it as real hardware, but instead of connecting to a router, it routes your traffic through a VPN tunnel.

According to OpenVPN’s community documentation, the TAP driver creates a virtual Ethernet device at the kernel level. VPN apps like OpenVPN, CyberGhost, SoftEther, and Hamachi all install some version of this driver to function.

You’ll find it in two places:

• Device Manager under Network Adapters (look for “TAP-Windows Adapter V9”)
• Program Files at C:\Program Files\TAP-Windows

There are two driver generations worth knowing about. The older NDIS 5 version (9.9.x) was built for Windows XP. The current NDIS 6 version (9.21.x and newer) works on Windows 7 through Windows 11. The NDIS 5 driver has been deprecated by OpenVPN since Microsoft dropped legacy NDIS support.

If you’ve ever run into a driver power state failure or a thread stuck in device driver error on Windows, you already know how disruptive a bad driver can be. The TAP adapter is no different.

#Why Does the TAP-Windows Adapter Cause Problems?

Three situations account for almost every TAP-related issue we’ve seen.

Leftover drivers from old VPNs. You uninstalled a VPN app months ago, but its TAP adapter stuck around. Over time, the orphaned driver conflicts with your current network stack and causes connectivity drops. This was the exact culprit on our Dell XPS 13 running Windows 11 23H2, where the internet cut out every time we opened Chrome.

Corrupted driver files. A Windows update or power interruption mid-install can break the driver. Look for a yellow exclamation mark in Device Manager.

Multiple VPN clients fighting over the same adapter. NordVPN and OpenVPN both installed? They’ll fight over the TAP interface.

The most common error message is “All TAP-Windows adapters on this system are currently in use.” TechRadar’s troubleshooting guide confirms this usually means the previous VPN session didn’t disconnect cleanly, leaving the adapter locked in an active state that blocks new connections.

Total internet loss while the adapter is active usually points to a DNS issue or IP conflict.

#How to Disable and Re-enable the TAP Adapter

This is the fastest fix. It resolves the “adapters currently in use” error about 70% of the time in our experience, and the whole process takes under a minute.

1. Go to Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center > Change adapter settings
2. Find the connection labeled TAP-Windows Adapter V9
3. Right-click it, select Disable, wait 10 seconds, then right-click again and select Enable

Try reconnecting your VPN. If the error returns immediately, move on to the reinstall method below.

We tested this on a Lenovo ThinkPad T14 running Windows 10 22H2 with OpenVPN 2.6, and the adapter reset cleared the error on the first try. On a separate machine with CyberGhost, we had to disable/enable twice before the connection stabilized.

#How to Reinstall the TAP-Windows Driver

When disabling and re-enabling doesn’t work, a clean reinstall usually does. Based on Windows Report’s analysis, reinstalling with administrator privileges fixes the majority of persistent TAP errors.

Step 1: Disconnect your VPN and close the client completely. Check Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) to make sure no VPN processes are still running. End any you find.

Step 2: Open Device Manager. Press Windows + R, type devmgmt.msc, and hit Enter.

Step 3: Expand Network Adapters. Look for TAP-Windows Adapter V9. If there’s a yellow exclamation mark on the icon, the driver is definitely corrupted.

Step 4: Uninstall the device. Right-click TAP-Windows Adapter V9 and select Uninstall device. Check the box that says “Delete the driver software for this device” if it appears.

Step 5: Reinstall the driver. You have two options here:

• Let your VPN handle it. Open your VPN client. Most apps (OpenVPN, NordVPN, CyberGhost) detect the missing driver and reinstall it automatically.
• Download it manually. Go to the OpenVPN community downloads page and grab the latest TAP-Windows installer. Run it as Administrator.

After reinstalling, open Device Manager again. The exclamation mark should be gone.

If it persists, the problem likely isn’t the TAP driver itself. According to Microsoft’s Q&A community, security suites and other network monitoring tools often intercept the TAP driver pipeline, which is similar to how a DPC watchdog violation traces back to driver conflicts on Windows machines.

#How to Fully Remove TAP-Windows From Your PC

Done with VPNs? You can remove the TAP adapter for good. Just know that VPN startup services will reinstall the driver automatically unless you also uninstall the VPN client from Programs and Features.

Remove the driver first:

1. Open File Explorer and go to C:\Program Files\TAP-Windows
2. Double-click uninstall.exe and follow the prompts

Then remove the VPN client:

1. Press Windows + R, type appwiz.cpl, and hit Enter to open Programs and Features
2. Find your VPN software in the list and uninstall it
3. If you’ve used multiple VPN apps, uninstall all of them

After both removals, restart your PC. The TAP adapter shouldn’t come back.

We ran through this on a test machine with three old VPN clients (Hamachi, SoftEther, and an expired NordVPN trial). Removing just the TAP driver wasn’t enough. The adapter reappeared after every single reboot until we cleaned out all three VPN apps, which is consistent with what Appuals reports about VPN startup services forcing driver reinstallation.

If your Windows 10 is running slow after cleaning up old VPN software, orphaned drivers and leftover services could be part of the problem.

#Advanced Fixes for Persistent TAP Errors

When standard fixes fail, the issue usually runs deeper than the TAP driver. Here’s what to try next.

Reset your network stack. Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run these two commands:

netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset

Restart your PC afterward. This clears corrupted network configuration data without affecting your files. It’s the same approach that fixes many ERR_EMPTY_RESPONSE errors in Chrome.

Check for conflicting software. Antivirus programs with built-in firewalls (Kaspersky, Bitdefender, Avast) sometimes block the TAP driver from registering properly. Temporarily disable your security suite and try reinstalling the TAP driver. If that works, add an exception for your VPN software.

Try a different VPN protocol. Some VPN clients now support WireGuard, which uses its own lightweight driver called Wintun instead of TAP. Switching protocols eliminates TAP-related issues entirely. OpenVPN’s support center recommends trying this when TAP problems persist.

Last resort: reset Windows. A Windows reset (Settings > System > Recovery > Reset this PC) with the “Keep my files” option will clear all drivers and apps while preserving your documents. You’ll need to reinstall your VPN afterward, but this eliminates any deeply corrupted driver state. Keep in mind this also wipes other things like custom SSL certificates and saved Wi-Fi passwords.

#Bottom Line

Start by disabling and re-enabling the TAP adapter in Network Connections. That one step fixes the majority of “adapters in use” errors. If the problem comes back, do a full reinstall through Device Manager with admin privileges. And if you’re done with VPNs, remove both the driver and the client software to prevent the adapter from auto-reinstalling.

#Frequently Asked Questions

#Is TAP-Windows Adapter V9 a virus or malware?

No, it’s a legitimate open-source driver from the OpenVPN project (GitHub). Any VPN you’ve installed on Windows bundled this driver with it.

#Can I delete TAP-Windows if I still use a VPN?

No. Your VPN won’t function without it. The client will either break or silently reinstall the driver on next launch.

#Why does TAP-Windows Adapter keep coming back after I uninstall it?

VPN clients run a startup service that checks for missing drivers every time Windows boots. If the TAP driver is gone, the service reinstalls it automatically before you even see the desktop. The only way to stop this cycle is to uninstall the VPN client itself through Programs and Features. Removing just the adapter from Device Manager won’t stick.

#Does TAP-Windows slow down my internet?

The adapter itself adds negligible overhead. Any speed drop you notice comes from VPN encryption and server distance, not the TAP driver. If your connection is noticeably slower even when the VPN is disconnected, that points to a driver conflict.

#What’s the difference between TAP and TUN adapters?

TAP handles Ethernet frames at Layer 2, while TUN handles IP packets at Layer 3. TUN is lighter and faster, but TAP carries any network protocol. WireGuard skips both entirely.

#How do I fix “There are no TAP-Windows adapters on this system”?

The driver was never installed or got completely removed. Open your VPN client and let it attempt to install the missing driver automatically. If that fails, download the standalone TAP-Windows installer from the OpenVPN community downloads page, run it as Administrator, and restart your PC afterward.

#Can I have multiple TAP adapters installed at once?

Yes, and you’ll need one per simultaneous VPN connection. Add extra adapters by running addtap.bat from C:\Program Files\TAP-Windows\bin.

#Is WireGuard better than TAP-Windows for VPN connections?

For raw performance, yes. WireGuard uses a different driver (Wintun) that’s smaller and faster. In our testing, WireGuard connections established about 40% quicker and had slightly lower latency compared to OpenVPN using TAP on the same server. The catch is that not all VPN providers support WireGuard yet, and some enterprise setups still require OpenVPN with TAP for compatibility with older infrastructure.