I keep getting a notice that Windows Firewall is not active but when I try to turn it on in the Control Panel it says "Windows cannot start Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) service. I have no idea what is wrong or how to fix it. Can anyone give me any ideas? I'm not super technical so if you could explain clearly, it would be much more helpful. Thanks! Mimi1 person needs an answerI do too

What antivirus/security program(s) do you have installed? Many of them have their own firewall component which will rightly disable the Windows Firewall. The First Question Of Troubleshooting: If the problem is new, what changed between the time things worked and the time they didn't? The Second Question of Windows Troubleshooting: what is the malware/virus status of the machine? If you think it is clean, what programs (and versions) did you use to determine this? Be sure the computer is clean: http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_MalwareMS-MVP - Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!

I only have AVG Free insstalled. So far it has kept me virus free. Also have Malaware and SpyBot installed and run them periodically. I don't usually visit high risk sites. The Firewall has not functioned for quite a long time = several months and I don't recall installing anything new except a new printer, Canon Camera programme.

Since you waited so long to troubleshoot this, it will be impossible to answer The First Question of Troubleshooting. That's too bad. Please go through the very thorough malware scanning steps listed at the link I already gave you. Do not skip the preparatory work. Then if the computer is truly clean (and you will not know this unless you do the systematic scanning) and the problem persists, make sure the Firewall service is running. Start>Run>services.msc [OK] The Firewall service should be set to automatic. If you can't start the Firewall service using services.msc, you'll get an error message. Post the exact text of it back here.MS-MVP - Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!