Solved Can't share network with firewall on, can't reset firewall to default

[3DPiper]

I suddenly noticed my desktop wasn't on the network any more. On inspection, network discovery and file sharing was disabled. I tried to enable it, but it would not. I found out if I turned off the firewall it worked fine. I tried to reset the firewall to default, but I get "Could not restore the default policy: error 3".

How can I reset the firewall to default so I can turn on network discovery and file sharing?

Edit: I forgot to say, I have MSE on and it has not found or alerted me to any malware.. Plus, I have scanned with Malwarebytes and Kaspersky (even pulling the hard drive and scanning from another machine) and they have found nothing..

 

[3DPiper]

bump..

Still can't figure this out..

 

[chev65]

Often times the Windows firewall is the problem although it's likely that Kaspersky is at fault.

How to Repair Windows Firewall Files | eHow.com

 

[3DPiper]

The problem is, when I open a cmd prompt and type "netsh advfirewall reset", I get the error:
An unrecoverable Windows Firewall error (0x3) occurred.

How can I get past that?

 

[Layback Bear]

Could you tell us all security programs you have installed now and also the ones that were previously installed?

 

[3DPiper]

I have Microsoft Security Essentials that runs all the time, and Malwarebytes (free) that scans when run it.. I installed Kaspersky just to scan, but have already uninstalled it..

 

[Layback Bear]

The reason I'm asking about security programs is because if Kaspersky has some left overs hanging around it very well could be stopping Windows 7 firewall. How did you remove Kaspersky. Use their online removal tool.
You could also try a restore point before all this started happening.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorial...re-points-manually-extract-files-folders.html

Please keep us informed on what you do and the results.

 

[3DPiper]

The problem happened before I used Kaspersky, I just installed and ran it to see if it found anything (which it did not)..

I'm about ready to start a new administrator account and just transfer everything over.. Sooooo aggravating!!

 

[3DPiper]

Fixed the problem!
I read another post here, and the solution worked for me:
- export firewall settings from a known working w7 computer
- import the firewall settings onto the non-working w7 computer

My system now works!

 

[Layback Bear]

I'm glad you got it fixed. Thanks for letting us know how you did it. One of your old anti virus/firewall programs probably damaged the file.