NordVPN Not Working: Any thoughts?

After reformatting my PC, I did a fresh install of NordVPN expecting everything to run smoothly. Instead, the app just refuses to connect to any server. Whether it’s Quick Connect or picking a specific country manually, it stays stuck on “connecting” until my internet completely cuts out. What makes it even more confusing is that the kill switch isn’t enabled, so there’s no obvious reason for the entire connection to drop like that.

Went through all the usual troubleshooting steps right away. Restarted the computer, checked Windows network settings, and looked through the network adapters. That’s when something really stood out there’s no NordVPN TAP adapter showing up at all. From what I remember, that adapter is pretty important for routing the VPN connection. Reinstalled the app multiple times thinking it would automatically restore it, but it still doesn’t appear.

Even tried disabling Windows Defender just to see if it was blocking something in the background, but nothing changed. The app still hangs on that “connecting” screen like it’s frozen in time. The frustrating part is that everything worked perfectly before the system reset, so it feels like something small but crucial didn’t install properly this time around.

Has anyone else run into this after doing a clean reinstall of NordVPN? Any specific settings, drivers, or manual fixes worth checking? At this point, it feels like I’m overlooking one simple thing that’s causing all this chaos.