Code Prostitute

** update: For Snow Leopard, you basically don’t have to use Cisco VPN (or can’t)… you can use Apple’s built-in VPN in System Preferences… read more about that here. **

Cisco VPN Client (4.8.x, 4.9.x)

Error 51

If you find this annoying alert when trying to start up the VPN client following a reboot, your disk permissions are probably screwed up. You need to repair them using Disk Utility.

1. Go into your Application - found in your dock (bottom of your Desktop)
2. Go to Utilities – found inside the Applications folder
3. Double-click Disk Utility
4. Select your HD (hard drive) on the left – mine has the default name of “Macintosh HD”
5. On the main screen on the right, at the bottom, find button: “Repair Disk Permissions” (click it)
6. When it is done, you can exit out of this (cmd Q)

Reboot and try to open Cisco VPN Client again… hopefully it started working again beautifully.

There is a temporary fix you can do the might be quicker, but it will only last until your next reboot… Open your Terminal (Applications/Utilities) and enter this:

sudo /System/Library/StartupItems/CiscoVPN/CiscoVPN restart

Again, this is only a temporary (but quick) fix.

As always, if you’re not sure what to do or any of this is confusing you should contact your IT department (assuming you have one).