Up until yesterday I kept getting the message "action center cannot open" every time I tried to turn on Windows Firewall. I was very nervous as my nephew keeps inviting me to join his facebook page. I finally went through the Control Panel>System Security>Find and Fix Problems>Check for Performance Problems to discover that none of my firewall settings had been configured yet! Probably due to when I first tried to install ZoneAlarm Firewall it changed the registry to shut off Windows Firewall but I cannot be sure of this. ZoneAlarm never did work. It crashed the system every time. Now after setting all the recommended defaults item by item I have a firewall and action center is working well.

Probably due to when I first tried to install ZoneAlarm Firewall it changed the registry to shut off Windows Firewall but I cannot be sure of this. That is because it seems to me that either: 1. Windows firewall seems to conflict with A/V suites' firewalls or 2. A/V suites like just using their own and dumping the windows one just because it can.- JoelbX

Also if you can change the type of thread to a discussion and not a question, as you have already solved your problem.- JoelbX