How to set up OpenVPN on Windows XP

In this tutorial we will show you how to set up OpenVPN on Windows XP but first let’s see what are our requirements and recommendations.

Requirements

In order to set up the OpenVPN you will need:

A CactusVPN account. If you don’t have one you can try our services for free.
Your VPN username and password. You can find them in your account on our website, by going to Settings -> VPN Username & Password.
The OpenVPN configuration files. You can find them on the Downloads page on our website.
The OpenVPN GUI. You can download it from here for free.

Recommendations

To skip the manual setup and for more features we recommend to use the CactusVPN App for Windows.

If you still want to set up OpenVPN manually, go step-by-step through following instructions:

OpenVPN Setup instructions

If you want to set up VPN manually, you have to install OpenVPN GUI in order to install OpenVPN on Windows XP. You can download it for free from here.

After you’ve downloaded the software install it:

Click on “Next” button.

How to set up OpenVPN on Windows XP: Step 1

Click on “I agree” button.
Click on “Next” button.
Click on “Install” button.
If you have the following message, press “Install” again.
Click “Next”.
Click “Finish”.
Now you need to download the config files and unzip the downloaded file.
Copy the files you need to the OpenVPN config folder. Normally you’ll find it in the following path: C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\config.

If you receive an error about privileges, then move zip archive to C:\ folder, extract and move back to C:\Program Files\OpenVPN\config\ folder.
Start OpenVPN if it’s not started.Now, in the toolbar, you should see a symbol for OpenVPN. Right click on the symbol with the mouse, choose the server you want to connect and click “Connect”. You can select between two different protocols for OpenVPN: TCP and UDP. UDP is usually faster so we recommend to try it first.