VPN Client spins and spins

[Bob Smiley]

I'm using Windows 10 Pro. I'm attempting to use the Windows 10 default VPN client to connect to my client's VPN connection. I have 2 computers: my laptop (which works fine) and my desktop (same configuration, but doesn't work).

I added the VPN connection; i'm using an IP address (not DNS name) for the server, automatic proxy configuration is turned off, VPN type is automatic, and i'm using user name and password for sign-in info.

When I click Connect on my laptop, it connects immediately.
When I click Connect on my desktop, it give me the message "Connecting to VPN", the dots spin in circles, and this last as long as I let it run. It never connects and never gives an error message.

One thing I noticed is that when I click on the non-working computer's network icon in the system tray, it lists the VPN connection at the top with the work "Blocked" next to it. I've searched but don't see anything telling me how to deal with this.

I tried calling Microsoft support but they want me to pay $500 to open a professional services incident. (!!!)

I've compared all the settings between my laptop and desktop VPN client configurations and I don't see any differences. One difference, however, is that i purchased the laptop's Windows 10 professional as part of the laptop purchase; the desktop was installed as windows home and upgraded to pro using a Microsoft store upgrade purchase.

Any help or ideas on how to troubleshoot next would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Bob Smiley]

I resolved the issue. In my services, the VPN client service and other related services were all disabled. I'm not aware of how they got that way, but enabling them, setting their startup type to manual, resolved the issue.

I don't need to reboot for the fix to take effect, but I have rebooted since and it's still fixed.