Symptom

When you attempt to start the Windows Firewall service in a Windows XP Service Pack 2 computer, the following error message may appear:

Could not start the Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) service on Local Computer.

Error 1068: The dependency service or group failed to start.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, make sure that all dependant services have been started. To do this, follow these steps:

  • Click Start, Run and type Services.msc
  • Double-click the Network Connections entry
  • Set its Startup type to Manual
  • Click Start to start the service
  • Double-click Windows Management Instrumentation
  • Set its Startup type to Automatic
  • Click Start to start the service.

After starting the two dependant services, try to start the Windows Firewall service.

More information

The dependency information for a service can be determined using the Services applet, or using the SC command-line utility. Click Start, Run and type cmd /k sc qc sharedaccess and press enter. The output should look like:

[SC] GetServiceConfig SUCCESS

SERVICE_NAME: sharedaccess
TYPE : 20 WIN32_SHARE_PROCESS
START_TYPE : 2 AUTO_START
ERROR_CONTROL : 1 NORMAL
BINARY_PATH_NAME : C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe -k netsvcs
LOAD_ORDER_GROUP :
TAG : 0
DISPLAY_NAME : Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)
DEPENDENCIES : Netman
                        : WinMgmt
SERVICE_START_NAME : LocalSystem