I am new to using Docker Desktop. I have Windows 11 and I reside in China, so I require a VPN on my computer. The issue is that having Astrill VPN installed means I cannot even open Docker Desktop (quitting the VPN, exiting it doesn't work, only uninstalling).

When I just run docker network ls in the terminal, I get back

failed to connect to the docker API at npipe:////./pipe/dockerDesktopLinuxEngine; check if the path is correct and if the daemon is running: open //./pipe/docker_engine: The system cannot find the file specified.

I've tried opening Docker Desktop from the Start Menu, but absolutely nothing happens except for a few instances of "Docker Desktop Backend" on the Task Manager which quickly disappear (again, everything works when I uninstall Astrill VPN).

I need a VPN so I would really like to get this working. If anyone has any suggestions, I would really appreciate your help. Thanks in advance!