Windows firewall does not start

Question

Hello,

My firewall service doesn't start, the service account is localSystem but when i try to change it, all is greyed out. I use an administrator account.

The only workaround is to use psexec tool, like this : psexec -sid c:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe then use mmc console to manage services and finally i can set localService.

I did run security scans and no virus was found.

I tried "sfc /scannow" but nothing.

Can you help me ?

Best regards,

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to Q&A platform.

Based on provided information, my understanding is your Windows Firewall cannot be turned on and Window Defender Firewall service turns gray and inoperable. If there is any misunderstanding, please correct me.

May I know if there is any error message when we start the Windows Firewall?

Please try the following method to see if our issue can be resolved.

Click Start->insert regedit.exe to open Registry Editor and then please locate to the following registry key

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\mpssvc

In the right window of mpssvc, find Start and double-click to open it, then please change the value to 2 as shown in the following image:

And I also find the following articles for your reference, you could check if methods in it was helpful to us:

Download Windows Firewall Troubleshooter to automatically repair Window Firewall problems:

Automatically diagnose and fix problems with Windows Firewall

Windows Firewall service does not start in Windows 10
Please Note: Since the website is not hosted by Microsoft, the link may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this information.

Best Regards,
Sunny

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