Error Code 0x80070424 - Unable to start Windows Firewall

It is a good practice to have a look at how your computer's security is working time to time. That's where i did'nt pay much of the attention and the reason why i my writing this here.

I found that the resolution provided at various blogs was somehow not working for everyone. Identified main causes of the error code 0x80070424 is corrupted system registry and WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation).

Download the zip containing all the required files here.

The zip contains all the files mentioned at the various links that i used to resolve the issue. I must say changing registry without paying attention may cause system to become unstable. So do it all on your own risk.

I started at the Technet blog post which says that it is due to a problem with the registry settings for the Base Filtering Engine Service. More information can be read here.

The zip download contains both the registry files mentioned in the blog post.

Follow the steps:

• Double click to open the 1055.BFE.reg file and add the registry settings.
• Do the same with 0677.mpssvc.reg
• Then you need to open registry and add the permissions on the registry key located at HKEYLOCALMACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\BFE.
• To add the permission navigate to the key, right click and select Permissions to open a new window. Click on Add and in the window and type Everyone and click Check names. In the checkbox click on Full control Allow and click OK to complete the permission settings.
• Apply the same permissions for the key HKEYLOCALMACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\MpsSvc

According to the blog post, doing this should resolve the issue but it never worked at my end. So far so good, try rebooting the machine and hopefully you get it solved.

But On my computer, I found that even Windows Defender service was not available and I was unable to start it as well. With the zip download, I have included registry settings for Windows Defender as well.

• Double click to add the registry information from the files wscsvc.reg and WinDefend.reg

Next, I ran the RepairWMIWindows_Firewall utility that I found from here which is included in the zip download. Run this utility and let it do it's work. After it finishes, it will prompt to restart the machine. When the machine is rebooted, you should be able to start the Windows Firewall and Windows Defender from Services Management Interface (Start -> type "services.msc")

Start the Windows Firewall and Windows Defender services and you should be OK to start them.

Phew!, no more error code :)

Feeling safe right!

To Sum up References:

1. Error Code 0x80070424 with Windows Firewall and "Base Filtering Engine Service" Not available in services database list.
2. Diagnose and Fix Windows 7 Firewall Problems Automatically