[Fix] Themes Service Errors 1068 and 1075: “The dependency service does not exist”

When you start the Themes service on your Windows computer, error 1075 may occur. Here is the full error message verbatim.

Windows could not start the Themes service on Local Computer.
Error 1075: The dependency service does not exist or has been marked
for deletion.

themes service error 1075

In some cases you receive error 1068 when starting Themes and Aero themes and features fail to work.

Windows could not start the Themes service on Local Computer.
Error 1068: The dependency service or group failed to start.

This article addresses other Theme service errors Fix for Themes Service Startup Problems in Windows 7 and Vista.

Cause

This issue has been reported by several users, primarily occurring in systems running Windows 7. And it appears like the problem is caused by an adware which registers a service named iThemes5 (powered by “iThemes.dll”), and adds itself as the dependency for the “Themes” service.

First, make sure you eliminate all the adware, PUA, and malware from the system. Use reputed anti-malware products like Malwarebytes AntiMalware, Adwcleaner, etc. and do a thorough checkup using your anti-virus software.

Then to fix the Themes service, use these steps.

Fix Themes Service Error 1075 or 1068

Open an elevated or Admin Command Prompt window, and type:

sc config themes depend= ""

themes service error 1068 and 1075

Press {ENTER}.

Note: You should see the message [SC] ChangeServiceConfig SUCCESS. On the other hand, if you receive the following error, then it probably means you’re running it from a normal Command Prompt. You need to run it from an elevated or administrator Command Prompt. See how to open an elevated or admin Command Prompt.



[SC] OpenService FAILED 5:

Access is denied.

To confirm if dependencies for “Themes” are removed, run this command:

sc qc themes

themes service error 1075

The dependencies field should be empty, as shown above.

Then, start the Themes service by typing this:

net start themes

themes dependency error 1075

That fixes the Themes service. The instructions apply to all versions of Windows, including Windows 10.


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Ramesh Srinivasan is passionate about Microsoft technologies and he has been a consecutive ten-time recipient of the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional award in the Windows Shell/Desktop Experience category, from 2003 to 2012. He loves to troubleshoot and write about Windows. Ramesh founded Winhelponline.com in 2005.

148 thoughts on “[Fix] Themes Service Errors 1068 and 1075: “The dependency service does not exist””

  1. Thanks a lot. It worked for me. I tried so many procedures given in so many articles but none of them worked. Your article worked.

    Reply
  2. OMG!!YOU ARE JUST BRILLIANT I MUST SAY..FROM LAST 4 DAYS I WAS WONDERING THE SOLUTION AND TRIED ALL THE STEPS FROM DIFFERENT SITES,BUT IT ALL WENT IN VAIN…
    THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

    Reply
  3. this did not work for me
    After typing net start themes, i got the following error message:

    The dependency service does not exist or has been marked for deletion.

    What should I do?

    Reply
  4. this did not work for me
    After typing net start themes, i got the following error message:

    system error 1079 has occurred.
    The account specified for this service is different from the account specified for other services running in the same process

    What should I do? please, respond quickly.

    Reply
  5. not working, still failure TT.TT
    result for type “net start themes” on command prompt :
    system error 1075 has occurred
    the dependency service does not exist or has been marked for deletion

    Reply
  6. not working. It is showing error : The account specified for this service is different from the account specified for other services running in the same process. I restarted windows and tried. But no use.

    Reply
  7. yes, here they are.
    “sc qc themes” results

    c:\Windows\system32>sc qc themes
    [SC] QueryServiceConfig SUCCESS

    SERVICE_NAME: themes
    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 : ProfSvc_Group
    TAG : 0
    DISPLAY_NAME : Themes
    DEPENDENCIES :
    SERVICE_START_NAME : .\naresh

    “sc query themes” results

    C:Windows\system32>sc query themes
    SERVICE_NAME: themes
    TYPE : 20 WIN32_SHARE_PROCESS
    STATE : 1 STOPPED
    WIN32_EXIT_CODE : 0
    SERVICE_EXIT_CODE : 0
    CHECKPOINT : 0*0
    WAIT_HINT : 0*0

    Reply
  8. Tried but no use. After entering ”net start themes” in a command prompt as an administrator it is displaying different error now “The requested service has already been started” Don’t know what’s wrong with it.

    Reply
  9. Oh, God. Thanku for god sake. Ramesh Srinivasan you are brilliant guy. I checked it now after you post “How do you know the service is not started”. It’s working now. Great job.

    Reply
  10. hye,i’m having the problem of error 1075 which stated “the dependency service does not exist or has been marked for deletion.”
    what should i do?
    i already follow your steps until ‘net start theme’,but the result still the same.please help me…

    Reply
  11. Brilliant. Not sure how did you remove the dependency there. But it worked smooth. Can you please let me know what each command did?

    Reply
  12. ALHAMDULILLAH!!! thank you so much!! i’m really. and i wanna cry. this problem begin because virus 1.0.0.1

    Reply
  13. Really u got a 14 year old boy outta this fuss, THANK YOU FROM THE MIDDLE OF MY HEART.
    Was stuck in this pain from 4-5 weeks… I would recommend winhelponline.com to everyone!

    Reply
  14. I can’t thank you enough. After all tries reached here and finally got rid of the problem successfully. Thank you so much!

    Reply
  15. The dependencies field isn’t empty… Dependencies: iThemes5
    as I follow the last step it says that “the dependency service does not exist or has been marked for deletion” !!!!

    Reply

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