Windows

mins needs 64-bit Windows 10 or newer (the installer refuses to run otherwise: “mins requires Windows 10 x64 or later.”).

What the installer sets up

The installer asks for administrator rights and always installs to C:\Program Files\mins. It installs:

• the app, mins.exe;
• the Windows service mins Service (name MinsService, startup type Automatic) that creates the VPN adapter and applies routes and the kill switch with system rights;
• the Wintun driver library wintun.dll (version 0.14.1), next to the engine in the bin folder;
• the mins:// link handler and a Start menu entry. Two optional components are off by default: Start mins at login and Desktop shortcut.

You do not need to run the app itself as administrator. Only VPN (TUN) mode needs the service. System proxy and Proxy only work without it, so they are the fastest way to check whether the service is the problem.

Installer messages

Message	What to do
“mins requires Windows 10 x64 or later.”	The system is 32-bit or too old
“Installation directory is not protected. Repair its ownership/ACL as administrator.”	C:\Program Files\mins already exists with unsafe owner or permissions (for example a manual copy). Delete the folder as administrator and run the installer again
“Cannot stop/remove the old MinsService. Close Services properties and retry.”	The Services console (services.msc) or another program holds the old service. Close it and retry
“Close mins and retry installation. No running process will be force-killed.”	Files are in use. Quit mins from the tray icon menu (Quit), then retry
“Payload ownership/ACL verification failed.”	The installed files did not get the expected protection. Run the installer again as administrator
“MinsService registration/start failed. TUN will not be available.”	The service could not be created or started. See below

TUN does not start

The app talks to the service over the local pipe \\.\pipe\mins.

TUN service unavailable: …; install/start MinsService

1. Press Win + R, run services.msc, find mins Service.
2. If it is stopped, start it. Set Startup type to Automatic.
3. If the service is missing, run the installer again. A repair installation recreates it.
4. If it stops right after starting, the error shows as service stopped during startup: …. Reinstall mins; if that fails, report the text.

signed Wintun 0.14.1 is missing; reinstall mins

wintun.dll is not next to the engine in C:\Program Files\mins\bin. Antivirus software sometimes removes it (general advice: check the quarantine). Restore it or reinstall mins.

The service refuses the app

The service accepts only the installed mins programs. If you start mins.exe from another folder (a copy, a portable unpack), the service refuses the connection because the program is outside the installation tree, and TUN does not start. Start mins from the Start menu or from C:\Program Files\mins.

Legacy mins adapter cleanup failed; disconnect the previous version and retry the upgrade

An old mins adapter is still active. Disconnect the old version, then retry the upgrade.

Kill switch

Settings → Connection → Kill switch uses Windows Filtering Platform filters. They are meant to outlive a crash of the service, and are removed by an explicit Disconnect and by a reboot. If you are left without network after a crash:

1. Press Disconnect in mins, or restart the computer.
2. If you cannot, open Command Prompt as administrator and run "C:\Program Files\mins\bin\mins-service.exe" killswitch-clear.

It works with VPN (TUN) only. With a proxy mode it is refused with kill switch requires TUN.

System proxy

System proxy sets the Windows proxy to 127.0.0.1 and your Mixed proxy port (default 10808), with local addresses bypassed, and restores your previous settings on disconnect. The message another mins host is active or still restoring the original proxy settings means a second mins instance is running, or the previous one has not finished restoring. Quit the other instance from the tray and try again.

If the previous settings cannot be restored, the message starts with Cannot recover original proxy settings and ends with Backup preserved; restore the original settings manually before reconnecting. Set the system proxy back by hand (system Settings → Network & internet → Proxy), press Disconnect, and connect again.

The tray icon and autostart

• Closing the window hides mins to the tray; the connection keeps running. To quit, use the tray menu Quit. The menu also has Open mins, Connect or Disconnect, Servers and Mode.
• Settings → Connection → Launch at login writes an entry for your user. The installer’s optional Start mins at login writes one for all users. Both can exist; turn off the one you do not want.
• Connect at login connects automatically after the app starts; Connect when app starts connects every time the app opens.

Storage

Your servers are encrypted with a key kept by Windows for your user account (DPAPI). Data copied to another Windows user or computer cannot be decrypted; see Cannot decrypt profile.

Uninstall

The uninstaller stops the service and clears the kill switch filters first. If it reports “Cannot stop/delete MinsService. Nothing has been removed.” or “Cannot clear mins WFP filters. Nothing has been removed.”, close services.msc, quit mins, and run it again as administrator.