Hi,

As soon as I (administrator on my PC) logon to Windows 7, I get a message saying that the Group Policy Client service failed to start. I'm not sure why I'm getting this error even though the dependencies are very much up and running..

Below is the error message I get in the notification area as soon as I logon

Failed to connect to a windows service
Windows could not connect to the Group Policy Client service. This problem prevents stndard users from logging on to the system.
As an administrative user, you can review the System Event Log for details about why the service didn't respond.

Hello,

Please goto:

Event Viewer > Applications and Services Logs\Microsoft\Windows\GroupPolicy

I think there might be a CSE (Client Side Extension) that causes GPSVC to crash.

If you get the GUID of the CSE, I can show you how to re-register the CSE.

Hi,

Usually the issue is caused by some third-party service. Have you checked Event viewer for other error messages logged related this? And disable all the 3rd party services to test which service was causing this failure.

Regards,
Cicely

• Marked as answer by Cicely FengMicrosoft community contributor, Moderator Tuesday, November 20, 2012 7:55 AM
• Unmarked as answer by Cicely FengMicrosoft community contributor, Moderator Friday, March 15, 2013 1:44 AM

I FOUND SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM!

The crash of your computer caused that - you are absolutely right!

I had this issue on my laptop since November, and it really bugged me.  I sifted through the event log and found the pattern of events that preceded the issue, and, probably, caused it.

In short, the pattern is as follows: Windows updates run automatically as scheduled, and when reboot is initiated after the updates are finished, the computer crashes (probably during reboot sequence).  When it boots up, it reports that the last shutdown was unexpected, and the issue begins to occur.

I spent 2 days trying to dig out a solution from the Internet, to no avail, until I came across this page.  It doesn't say anything about this particular problem, but it gives more information about SVCHOST process that starts many services, including Group Policy Client.  It looks like during reboot a vital registry settings were lost during crash and Group Policy Client "don't know" how to start.  Let me explain:

There are two places to look in the registry:

1. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services this path should contain gpsvc key (a folder), which is responsible for service parameters and configuration.  I found that the key was intact, so, you do not touch anything here - just check that the key exists.
2. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SVCHOST This is the most important path you should look into, as it must contain the keys and values referred in the key #1.  Below are descriptions what must be present there.

• There must be Multi-String value called GPSvcGroup. My laptop was missing it.  So, you should create multi-string value named GPSvcGroup and assign it value GPSvc.
• Next, you must create a key (a folder) and name it GPSvcGroup - this key normally should be there, but, again, it was missin on my laptop.
• Then open newly-created GPSvcGroup folder and create 2 DWORD values:

1. First called AuthenticationCapabilities and you must give it a value of 0x00003020 (or 12320 in decimal)
2. Second is called CoInitializeSecurityParam and it must have value of 1.

Once you complete all steps above, reboot the computer and the problem will be fixed.

Video walkthrough for those who are not very technical is here: http://youtu.be/4m5KEmckWK4

I am so relieved I was able to fix it, and hope this will help others with the similar issue.

• Proposed as answer by SQL-ER Sunday, February 17, 2013 6:29 PM
• Marked as answer by Cicely FengMicrosoft community contributor, Moderator Friday, March 15, 2013 1:42 AM

Thank you SQL-ER. I created an account just to come say thank you. Worked like charm! Only thing I had to do is use the decimal value for some reason in the AuthenticationCapabilities DWORD value. ! Thanks a mill!

Thanks for your comment, Beylie.  One can use hex or decimal value - they mean the same numbers anyway.  It is important to indicate which format - hex or decimal - you enter in registry editor.  If you select hex you type 3020, and if decimal - 12320, but not the other way around.  I actually highlighted this in the video I referenced in my original post.

Anyway, glad it helped.

Confirmed that these steps will resolve this issue. Upvote for you!

Worked on the first try. THANKS.

SQL-ER, Many thanks, this issue has been part of a host of problems due to that crash, relieved to have an answer for this part.

It also caused Windows Mobile Device Centre to see two PC's ---  So PC and PC02 and no end of failed syncs with Outlook and Phone.

Thanks again.

Thanks! You are a hero, saved me a rebuild on my laptop.

Thank you! Works great!!!

Thanks. It was very useful post.

Hi SQL-Er

I bought a new machine, 4th Gen, Windows 8 and Intel i5.

I am installing Windows Server 2008 R2 in my machine for my training.

After Installation, I have restarted my machine and some times I get black background where the system shows the Error msg (Failed to connect to a Windows Service - Windows could not connect to the Group Policy Client Service. This Problem prevents limited Users from logging to the system).

I have tried the above setting and followed the steps as mentioned above and restarted the machine.

Still I am getting the same Error with Black ground.

Pls help. TQ.

Regards,

Rajesh.

You are a saint and a god among men.  The registry entries fixed it for me!

Thank you SQL-ER, this solved a number of problems on a Lenovo T420s with Windows 8.1. Ever since the computer crashed during Windows Upgrade there had been serveral issues: some users could not access their profile or log on at all in a useful state, some hardware like external USB HDDs would be dead slow to access and Chrome would have long delays in startup. Sometimes I was able to start the Group Policy Client service manually which would remedy some problems, but most of the time service startup was prevented with "access denied" errors. Your fixed solved every problem and the computer got a speed boost and is as good as new again. Had some data that made it difficult to reinstall so this was a real lifesaver. Thanks again.

Thanks so much! I had this same problem on my laptop running 8.1. Suggested fix also resolved secondary problem with MS Office not being able to verify a license (which I know I have).

Thanks,

this is the only thing that worked for me after many other failed Google Search fixes.

Thanks for sharing your solution, SQL-ER. I had the same problem on a Windows 8.1 laptop. I especially found the YouTube video helpful. My problem is now fixed.

Thank you - spot on solution in my case which is Windows 8.1 so similar problems still exist.

But a bizarre side-effect of the problem was that Google Chrome took about 9 minutes to start!!!  Presumably waiting for something.  That has gone away now as well

A client reported this error and I came upon your solution.  I also watched your YouTube video, which was excellent by the way.

Being curious, I navigated to the registry entries in question on a perfectly functioning computer and found that the entries you suggest creating don't exist.  While I can't argue the success you've had, I am puzzled as to WHY it works when these entries are not present by default.

I am equally curious why an official moderator would mark this as an answer when the entries are not present by default.  

Upon further investigation, I came upon another TechNet article pertaining to SVHOST.EXE Troubleshooting.  (http://goo.gl/C40bb) According to this article, the solution being proposed is actually isolating the GroupPolicyClient service into a separate group of services.  By doing so, you may be preventing a conflict among services which is the real underlying problem.

Another (simpler) method to isolate this service is to change the value of Type from 0x20 (which denotes a shared process) to 0x10 (indicating it has its own process).

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\gpsvc
Default value: "Type"=dword:00000020
New value: "Type"=dword:00000010

My observations do not negate the utility of this solution, they do however reveal that the source problem may still exist.

• Edited by tortoiseUSA Wednesday, March 04, 2015 2:18 AM additional information

Life saver today!!!

Great post and much appreciated.

Did citrix come up with patch or something to fix this? I still see this in XenApp 6.7

Anyway, thanks again!