Windows Firewall Service Doesn't Start On Boot
Hi, I've got Windows 7 Ultimate running on my laptop and I use avast home edition and Windows Firewall as my AV and Firewall and they've been working fine since I installed 7. However the last few days I have had alerts from the Action Center saying Windows Firewall isn't active. When I click the balloon it disappears and everything returns to normal, but when I've checked the Event Logs it is reporting that the firewall service isn't starting automatically when windows starts. The event log shows the initial start failed and reports: The Windows Firewall service terminated with service-specific error The parameter is incorrect. Its only at startup that the service fails after which manually starting the service works fine. I would send the XML version of the event in the event log but I don't know how to on here.
April 8th, 2010 2:44am

Hi, This issue can occur by virus or corrupted files. To troubleshoot the issue, please perform the following steps. 1. Upgrade virus definition of Avast and run a complete scanning. 2. verify the Windows Firewall service and other failure service again. a. Click "Start" and type "services.msc" (without quotation marks) in the Search box, and press Enter. Note: If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type your password, or click Continue. b. Right click the "Windows Firewall" service and choose Properties. c. Click on the "Log On" tab, please ensure the option "Local System account" is selected and the option "Allow service to interact with desktop" is unchecked. d. Click on the "General" tab; make sure the "Startup Type" is "Automatic". Then please click the button "Stop" under "Service Status" to stop the service. e. Then please click the button "Start" under "Service Status" to start the service. f. Click OK. If the issue still occurs, please upload the Event log to the SkyDrive for research. Collect Event log ========================= a. Click "Start", input "eventvwr" (without quotation marks) in the Start Search bar and press Enter. b. Right click on "Application" on the left frame, choose "Save Log file As"; in the pop-up window, click to choose the Desktop icon on the left frame, input "app" in the "File name" blank, and then click save. c. Right click on "System", with the same method, save it as "sys". d. Locate the two saved log files on the Desktop and upload them. Thanks, Novak
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April 8th, 2010 9:29am

I have uploaded my Application and System to my skydrive and the links are below, In response to technocrate, the service is set to Automatic and is only failing to startup the first time when Windows boots. If I open up Services and start the service manually or through the Action Center the service starts instantly.Application Event Log - http://cid-59d8d0fb5766fc62.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Temporary%20Files/app.evtxSystem Event Log - http://cid-59d8d0fb5766fc62.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Temporary%20Files/sys.evtxI hope this helps.
April 15th, 2010 6:01pm

Follow the given steps:Click 'Start'> 'Run', type 'regedit' press Enterclick 'edit, find'type "\SystemRoot\C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe -k netsvcs"click 'find next'when you find it right click then modifychange the value to "C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe -k netsvcs"press F3change the value to "C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe -k netsvcs"start the firewall from control panel.
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April 16th, 2010 3:58am

Tried the instructions Kristain but unfortunately, Regedit didnt return any results.
April 16th, 2010 5:36pm

Hi, At this stage, I suggest you copy the following files on another Windows 7 machine which Windows Firewall service can start normally and import them to the problematic one. 1. Locate the FirewallAPI.dll and mpssvc.dll file under the folder C:\Windows\System32. Remove the old one and paste the new one. a. Click the Start Button, type "cmd" (without quotation marks), in the search result list, right click on Cmd.exe and select Run as administrator. Note: If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type your password, or click Continue. b. In the popup window, type the following command and press Enter: regsvr32 FirewallAPI.dll regsvr32 mpssvc.dll 2. Navigate the following registry key on another Windows 7 machine and export it. Then, please copy and import it on the problematic machine. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\MpsSvc If the issue persists after performing above suggestions, I suggest you run System File Checker (SFC) to verify whether any system file is corrupted. Thanks, Novak
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April 19th, 2010 11:18am

Check ur DNS Service status,It must be Automatic. I meet the same problem,and I have solved it now.
April 22nd, 2010 4:23pm

Hello: I tried to copy the files noted above from a working computer. First of all, you cannot simply remove the originals as the only user with full control rights is the trustedinstaller. The only way to overwrite the files was to take ownership of them, and then start my computer in safe mode to avoid having any other process load them. Once overwriting and importing the noted registry key, I rebooted. Upon rebooting, not only does my firewall still not load but everything I try to load gives the following error. "the endpoint mapper database could not be created" I had to use System Restore to go back by one day. So I am still stuck on my original problem of the firewall not loading automatically and when I manually start it, it does not load with server specific error code 5. So far, none of the possible solutions here have worked for various reasons, and I think that I have tried them all. There was an identical problem noted in a Vista Forum with a KB number that has escaped me, but it does not work with Windows 7. I will keep looking, and post any solution that I find fixes this issue.
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May 12th, 2010 2:41pm

well I tried everything, even reinstalled SP2, still can't open firewall. I will try a clean install and see if that works. Will let you know what happens. thanks terp. Cho Yung Tea
July 15th, 2010 1:50pm

Sorry try this. http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/943996 The Automatic fix does not work in Windows 7 but the manual instructions will work in Windows 7.
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November 17th, 2010 4:53pm

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