Unable to start Windows Firewall

Thank you Balon! Had never heard of these problems before a friend brought me his laptop and asked if I could fix it. It had a "legion" of trojans and malware, and the problems described here. Your posts - and others here -- made it possible for me to get him going again. Like someone else said -- I had to register just to say thanks!

Layla said:

Not sure if thread is still open but I was able to make the registry changes and get the BFE started however when I go to start the firewall I get the error message "Windows could not start the Windows Firewall on Local Computer. For more information review the System Event Log. If this is a non-microsoft service, contact the service vendor, and refer to service-specific error code 5. " Any suggestions? I saw some posts of other people needing to give additional permissions for Windows 7??? I also saw another registry download entitled
0677.mpssvc.reg???? Any help would be FANTASTIC!!!!

I had this problem tonight. Don't know about the reg file you mentioned, but if you Google "Windows Firewall error 5 Fixit" you'll see a link to a Microsoft site where there is a "Fixit" utility you can run to fix this. You can download the portable "Fixit" package on a different computer and put it on a flash drive or cd, too.

I see this is a few weeks old and you probably have resolved this already, but others may be helped by it, I hope.

Hello all,

I had this problem and I followed Balon's walkthrough and got the firewall entry back in services, like Layla mentioned though i cannot start it. i get the windows could not start the windows firewall error code 5 message. I ran the fixit application, and it found the problems but couldnt fix it either. I am starting to get very frustrated. This is a very challenging problem for me.

I had the same infection/trojan but followed a slightly different path to resolution. That being said, my McAfee firewall would not turn on. On the phone for 3 hours with them, turns out Windows Firewall service was missing. They (McAfee) ran a patch and the result was unable to connect to the internet with that error 5.

I had to set up an appointment for 2 days later for someone that knew what they were doing (why didn't they check this forum?). I was very angry - at least I had internet before they messed with it.

After sleeping on it, I decided to do a restore - which happened to be a few hours before I stupidly clicked on that Flash update popup. All is fine now. Firewalls working and scan clean as a whistle.

That was one nasty infection. Hope this helps someone.

Hi, Balon,

This is a great thread. I almost got it working, but stuck at this point:

It all went well until when I tried to start firewall, I got the error:
Error 1068: The dependency service or group failed to start.

Balcon, are you able to figure out a solution for this problem?

Thank you very much!

I had the exact problem and this thread helped me

Windows Firewall damaged by 'Windows 7 antivirus 2012'

Balon,

I cannot thank you enough!! You are a life saver! The instructions worked for me and my firewall is running. I was having trouble installing my Cisco VPN client because my firewall was corrupted. Thanks to you I am good to go now.

Cheers,

Balon said:

Hi there, my name is Balon and I am pretty sure I have the way to fix your problem.

IT IS SUGGESTED YOU BACKUP YOUR REGISTRY BEFORE PROCEEDING

Backing Up Your Registry

1. Go Here and download ERUNT
   (ERUNT (Emergency Recovery Utility NT) is a free program that allows you to keep a complete backup of your registry and restore it when needed.)
2. Install ERUNT by following the prompts
   (use the default install settings but say no to the portion that asks you to add ERUNT to the start-up folder, if you like you can enable this option later)
3. Start ERUNT
   (either by double clicking on the desktop icon or choosing to start the program at the end of the setup)
4. Choose a location for the backup
   (the default location is C:\WINDOWS\ERDNT which is acceptable).
5. Make sure that at least the first two check boxes are ticked
6. Press OK
7. Press YES to create the folder.

Registry Modifications



Download both the registry files

bfe.reg

firewall.reg

Launch and import them to registry

Restart your PC

Now,open RUN and type

regedit and click ok

go to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\BFE

Right click on it-permissions

Click on ADD and type

Everyone and click ok

Now Click on Everyone

Below you have permission for users

Select full control and click ok

Now,open RUN and type

services.msc and click ok

start base filtering engine service and then windows firewall service

For further assistance contact me here, I will be checking this thread every few hours, this worked for me and it should work for you too.

Hi Balon i've tried your solution and success to start the BFE.

i got problem in the last step which is starting the firewall service

i got this message:

Code:

---------------------------
Services
---------------------------
Windows could not start the Windows Firewall on Local Computer. For more  information, review the System Event Log. If this is a non-Microsoft  service, contact the service vendor, and refer to service-specific error  code 5.
---------------------------
OK   
---------------------------

do you have any idea what happen here??

thanks for your assistance :):)

Try the method given here

Windows Firewall damaged by 'Windows 7 antivirus 2012'

I am having this problem too !! I cannot install my printer HP C7280 to use wireless connectivity as it says my firewall isn't enabled and pointing to this service !
I cannot install the firewall.reg file as I keep getting the following error message
Can someone help me please !

https://www.sugarsync.com/pf/D8932115_67700784_933518