Issue with PIA when restarting computer.
I restarted my computer, and when it had finished restarting I logged on, then opened my browser. I went to log into reddit and launched Spotify, then wondered if PIA was connected. When I checked the notification drawer, PIA wasn't there. I then went and launched PIA and waited for it to pop up, then I lost internet connection right before the PIA window appeared.
I then checked my internet connection. I was connected, but it said my home network was now an "Unidentified Network". I tried using the windows troubleshooter, but it found no problem. I tried loading spotify and another website, didn't load, no internet connection. My phone was still working, and is also connected to PIA, so I was confused on what to do.
I looked up the steps of reinstalling PIA for windows, and started following the guide found here. https://helpdesk.privateinternetaccess.com/hc/en-us/articles/219498647-How-do-I-uninstall-reinstall-the-PIA-app-on-Windows-
When I got to the step to where it said to delete the folder, I proceeded to delete it, but was prompted with an error, saying I could not delete the folder due to it being in use.
I then started task manager and began looking for any files running connected to PIA. I found one, so I closed it. I then tried again to delete the PIA folder, but was prompted with the same error. I then started seeing which files it would let me delete, and which it wouldn't. It let me delete everything but the folder "log". I opened the "log" folder and tried deleting files, it then said the files were in use by rubyw.exe! So there it is! rubyw.exe was the issue. I googled and found out it was a program used by PIA. Which before I figured out it was the problem, I wondered what it was doing there, because I had never seen it before.
I thought I could provide the nice people at privateinternetaccess the issue I had, and how I fixed it, in case this is a common issue. So you could now make a guide if you needed to!
Hope it helps, and thanks for the great program you guys provide!
I then checked my internet connection. I was connected, but it said my home network was now an "Unidentified Network". I tried using the windows troubleshooter, but it found no problem. I tried loading spotify and another website, didn't load, no internet connection. My phone was still working, and is also connected to PIA, so I was confused on what to do.
I looked up the steps of reinstalling PIA for windows, and started following the guide found here. https://helpdesk.privateinternetaccess.com/hc/en-us/articles/219498647-How-do-I-uninstall-reinstall-the-PIA-app-on-Windows-
When I got to the step to where it said to delete the folder, I proceeded to delete it, but was prompted with an error, saying I could not delete the folder due to it being in use.
I then started task manager and began looking for any files running connected to PIA. I found one, so I closed it. I then tried again to delete the PIA folder, but was prompted with the same error. I then started seeing which files it would let me delete, and which it wouldn't. It let me delete everything but the folder "log". I opened the "log" folder and tried deleting files, it then said the files were in use by rubyw.exe! So there it is! rubyw.exe was the issue. I googled and found out it was a program used by PIA. Which before I figured out it was the problem, I wondered what it was doing there, because I had never seen it before.
I thought I could provide the nice people at privateinternetaccess the issue I had, and how I fixed it, in case this is a common issue. So you could now make a guide if you needed to!
Hope it helps, and thanks for the great program you guys provide!
Comments
It sounds like you had some trouble with the kill switch. In the future, you can fix these issues by using the following steps:
Your internet should work properly again!