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Error: Could not start the DHCP Client Service on local computer

Published: Aug 21, 2005
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Symptom

DHCP Client Service may not automatically. When you attempt to start the Service manually, the following error may be displayed:

Error: Could not start the DHCP Client Service on local computer

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

Resolution

The DHCP Client Service in Windows XP, depends on these three components:

If one of the above drivers fail to start, then the DHCP Client Service may not start.

Step I - Make sure that the three driver files are present

Open Windows Explorer and navigate to %Windir%\System32\Drivers folder. Make sure that the following files are present in the folder:

If one or more of the above driver files are missing, extract them from the Windows XP CD-ROM or from the ServicePackFiles\i386 folder, whichever is the latest version.

Step II - Verify the number of Dependencies

From other sources in the Web, I've found that installation of Norton Antivirus (NAV) adds an entry to the DHCP Service dependencies, and removing NAV does not remove the corresponding entry from the DHCP Dependencies.

To view the dependency services registered for DHCP Client Service, type the following command in Start, Run dialog:

CMD /K SC QC DHCP

Verify the output. It should be exactly as below:

[SC] GetServiceConfig SUCCESS

SERVICE_NAME: dhcp
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 : TDI
TAG : 0
DISPLAY_NAME : DHCP Client
DEPENDENCIES : Tcpip
: Afd
: NetBT
SERVICE_START_NAME : LocalSystem

If additional entries are listed under DEPENDENCIES...

If any other additional drivers or Services are mentioned in the DEPENDENCIES section, you need to remove them via the registry. Follow these steps:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ Dhcp

Tcpip
Afd
NetBT

Step III - Verify that the Dependency Service / components are running

Next step is to verify that the three dependency components are running. Follow the steps below:

  • TCP/IP Protocol Driver
  • NetBios over Tcpip

Related article

How do I view the error messages registered in Event Log?