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Fix “Windows can’t set up a Homegroup on this computer” Error

Ramesh

When you attempt to join a computer to a HomeGroup or create a HomeGroup from your Windows 10 computer, the following error message appears and the feature can’t be enabled.

Windows can’t set up a HomeGroup on this computer

And running the HomeGroup troubleshooter (by clicking the link in the above dialog) may prove futile; it may say “No issues detected”.

Also, in systems which have been upgraded to Windows 10, the previously established HomeGroup may not be detected, thus showing this error:

Windows no longer detects on this network. To create a new homegroup, click OK, and then open HomeGroup in Control Panel.

Resolution

If the troubleshooter is unable to identify the problem, here are your manual troubleshooting steps:

Step 1: Inspect the Services Configuration

  1. Right-click Start, click Run.
  2. Type Services.msc and press ENTER
  3. Make sure that the following services are configured correctly
    4. Service name Start type Log On As
    Function Discovery Provider Host Manual LOCAL SERVICE
    Function Discovery Resource Publication Manual LOCAL SERVICE
    HomeGroup Listener Manual LOCAL SYSTEM
    HomeGroup Provider Manual – Triggered LOCAL SERVICE
    Network List Service Manual LOCAL SERVICE
    Peer Name Resolution Protocol Manual LOCAL SERVICE
    Peer Networking Grouping Manual LOCAL SERVICE
    Peer Networking Identity Manager Manual LOCAL SERVICE
  4. Start the Peer Name Resolution Protocol service manually.

See article Windows 10 Default Services Configuration for the entire list of Windows 10 services.

Peer Name Resolution Protocol reports error 0x80630203 when starting?

All of the above services need to run in order for the HomeGroup feature to work correctly. In a vast majority of the cases, the HomeGroup problem is caused by the Peer Name Resolution Protocol service. The following error may appear when you attempt to start the service by clicking the Start button in Service properties dialog:

Windows could not start the Peer Name Resolution Protocol service on Local Computer.

Error 0x80630203: Unable to access a key.

Because Peer Name Resolution Protocol service failed to start, the Peer Networking Grouping service fails as well, as it’s dependent on the former service.

The Peer Networking Grouping service depends on the Peer Name Resolution Protocol service which failed to start because of the following error:

The service cannot be started, either because it is disabled or because it has no enabled devices associated with it.

Peer Networking Grouping and PNRP Machine Name Publication Service services would report Error 1068.

Error 1068: The dependency service or group failed to start

Step 2: Fix the “Peer Name Resolution Protocol” Service

The Peer Name Resolution Protocol service is unable to start due to missing permission entry for LOCAL SERVICE account for the RSA\MachineKeys folder. Follow these steps to resolve the problem.

1. Open File Explorer and browse this folder:

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Crypto\RSA

2. Right-click the MachineKeys folder, click Properties, and click the Security tab.

3. Click the Edit button.

4. If LOCAL SERVICE is not already listed there, then click the Add button.

5. In the Select User or Group dialog box, type LOCAL SERVICE and click OK.

6. With LOCAL SERVICE entry selected, enable the Full Control – Allow checkbox.

7. Click OK.

8. Start the Peer Name Resolution Protocol service manually. If it starts successfully, HomeGroup will start functioning correctly. In that case, skip the following steps (9 to 15).

Peer Name Resolution Protocol service start error 1079?

9. If Peer Name Resolution Protocol service throws the following error:

Error 1079: the account specified for this service is different from the account specified for other services running in the same process.

.. then open Services MMC [services.msc]

10. Double-click Peer Name Resolution Protocol

11. Click the Log On tab, and make sure it’s set to start as LOCAL SERVICE instead of Local System Account.

12. If it’s currently set as Local System Account, then click This account radio button, and click Browse

13. Type LOCAL SERVICE and click OK. Click OK again to close the dialog.

14. Exit the Services console.

15. Although restarting the computer isn’t required, please do restart the system anyway, just to be sure changes are applied without any problems.

See if you can join a HomeGroup or create a HomeGroup now.

That’s it!

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