About one month ago I installed Windows Vista RC2 on my desktop computer and activated it. I am logging into the computer with domain name used. For the first several days the local network was accessible, but then the connection got lost. I was not able to restore LAN connection, as the Windows Firewall service is not starting (although this service was starting automatically before). It seems to me that this service cannot be started because the Base Filtering Engine service cannot be started as well. When trying to start the Base Filtering Engine service manually I get the following error message: "Error 5: Access is denied". I tried to run this service both as a local service and as Windows user which has the administrator permissions - but all these attempts did not result in success. I also tried to use the Restore System functionality - with no result. The LAN properties have not been restored (the LAN is still inaccessible). I came across this problem using Vista RC1 once and the only way to handle this issue was reinstalling Windows. Besides, every time when I reinstall the OS I have to activate it again. Is there any solution on how to restore LAN connection without reinstalling the OS? Thank you for your help in advance.