Unable to start firewall

[Paul]

I am Unable to start windowsXP firewall. Whenever I goto Services to start
it it tells me "Could not start the Windows Firewall/Internet Connection
Sharing (ICS) service on Local Computer. Error 1068: The Dependency service
or group failed to start.

What services or group of services muzst I start and why are they being
disabled? {Note: I do not want to restart the computer because I am in the
middle of a game and I would lose my spot in the game by rebooting.}

 

[Malke]

I am Unable to start windowsXP firewall. Whenever I goto Services to
start it it tells me "Could not start the Windows Firewall/Internet
Connection
Sharing (ICS) service on Local Computer. Error 1068: The Dependency
service or group failed to start.

What services or group of services muzst I start and why are they being
disabled? {Note: I do not want to restart the computer because I am in
the middle of a game and I would lose my spot in the game by rebooting.}

What antivirus/security program(s) do you have installed? Many of these
programs have their own firewall component that disables the built-in Windows
Firewall.

Is this a new problem?

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_Malware

Malke

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Assuming you're NOT running WinXP SP1 or earlier and that you don't have a
third-party firewall installed & enabled...

There is a very good chance that you are seeing the effects of a hijackware
infection!

NB: If you had no anti-virus application installed or the subscription had
expired *when the machine first got infected* and/or your subscription has
since expired and/or the machine's not been kept fully-patched at Windows
Update, don't waste your time with any of the below: Format & reinstall
Windows. A Repair Install will NOT help!

1. See if you can download/run the MSRT manually:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx

NB: Run the FULL scan, not the QUICK scan! You may need to download the
MSRT on a non-infected machine, then transfer MRT.EXE to the infected
machine and rename it to SCAN.EXE before running it.

2. [WinXP ONLY!! =>] Run the Windows Live Safety Center's 'Protection' scan
(only!) in Safe Mode with Networking, if need be:
http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/center/howsafe.htm

3. Run a /thorough/ check for hijackware, including posting the requested
logs in an appropriate forum, not here.

Checking for/Help with Hijackware
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=4075
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/data/prevention.htm
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/tshoot.html
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/Malware_Defence.htm
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

**Chances are you will need to seek expert assistance in
http://spywarehammer.com/simplemachinesforum/index.php?board=10.0,
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/viewforum.php?f=5,
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/cleanup,
http://www.bluetack.co.uk/forums/index.php,
http://aumha.net/viewforum.php?f=30 or other appropriate forums as well.**

If these procedures look too complex - and there is no shame in admitting
this isn't your cup of tea - take the machine to a local, reputable and
independent (i.e., not BigBoxStoreUSA) computer repair shop.