Fix for Themes Service Startup Problems in Windows 7

When you start your Windows 7 computer, the Themes service may not automatically start although its Startup Type is set to Automatic. And when you attempt to start the service manually using Services MMC, one of the following errors may occur.

As a result, Aero features do not work on the computer. Here is how to fix the Themes Service in Windows 7.

Fix the Themes Service

Themes Registry Fix

Copy the following contents to Notepad, and save the file as “themesvc.reg”. Then, double-click the .reg file to apply the contents to the registry.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Themes]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Themes]
"Start"=dword:00000002
"DisplayName"="@%SystemRoot%\\System32\\themeservice.dll,-8192"
"ErrorControl"=dword:00000001
"Group"="ProfSvc_Group"
"ImagePath"=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,\
74,00,25,00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,73,\
00,76,00,63,00,68,00,6f,00,73,00,74,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,2d,00,\
6b,00,20,00,6e,00,65,00,74,00,73,00,76,00,63,00,73,00,00,00
"Type"=dword:00000020
"Description"="@%SystemRoot%\\System32\\themeservice.dll,-8193"
"ObjectName"="LocalSystem"
"RequiredPrivileges"=hex(7):53,00,65,00,41,00,73,00,73,00,69,00,67,00,6e,00,50,\
00,72,00,69,00,6d,00,61,00,72,00,79,00,54,00,6f,00,6b,00,65,00,6e,00,50,00,\
72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,53,00,65,00,44,00,65,\
00,62,00,75,00,67,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,\
00,00,53,00,65,00,49,00,6d,00,70,00,65,00,72,00,73,00,6f,00,6e,00,61,00,74,\
00,65,00,50,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,67,00,65,00,00,00,00,00
"FailureActions"=hex:80,51,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,03,00,00,00,14,00,00,\
00,01,00,00,00,60,ea,00,00,01,00,00,00,60,ea,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Themes\Parameters]
"ServiceDllUnloadOnStop"=dword:00000001
"ServiceMain"="ThemeServiceMain"
"ServiceDll"=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,\
00,74,00,25,00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,\
74,00,68,00,65,00,6d,00,65,00,73,00,65,00,72,00,76,00,69,00,63,00,65,00,2e,\
00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,00,00

Restart Windows and see if the Themes service starts correctly. If that does not help, try to start the Themes service manually and note down the error code/message. Meanwhile, see if running the System File Checker helps.

Running the System File Checker

System File Checker merely makes sure that all system files are where they should be. The sfc /scannow command scans all protected system files and replaces incorrect versions with correct Microsoft versions.

Open an elevated Command Prompt window. To do so, click Start, then type cmd in the Start Search box. In the results area, right-click cmd.exe, and then click Run as administrator. You will be prompted to type the password for an administrator account. Click Continue if you are the administrator or type the administrator password. Then, click Continue.

At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER.

sfc /scannow

The scan may take some time to complete. Windows will repair any corrupted or missing files that it finds. If required, Windows may prompt you to insert the Operating System CD.