Scribblings and Geekery

This set of instructions exists more or less on more than one site, usually completed by a few follow-up comments. For my own sanity and future reference, these are the 100% reproducible set of installation instructions, which prevent a nasty BSOD when trying to use the Cisco VPN Client:

1. If you tried previously to install the Cisco VPN client, uninstall it and reboot.
2. Run the Citrix Deterministic Networks Update (DNEUpdate) that is appropriate for your architecture.
3. Reboot.
4. Take Ownership of and then delete c:\Windows\System32\drivers\ndis.sys
5. Take Ownership of and then delete c:\Windows\System32\drivers\en-us\ndis.sys.mui
6. Install the VPN Client. I used version 5.0.05.0290, but I have heard that 5.0.04.0300 works as well.
7. Reboot. Allow Windows to repair itself. This takes about 30 seconds.
8. Your PC will complete a final reboot itself.

This worked like a charm for me and, from what the rest of the interwebs are saying, works for most everyone else.

Update: As noted in the comments below, this only works for 32-bit installations of Windows 7.