Unable to Start BFE/Firewall Access Denied

I've spent an entire day on this and tried every fix I could find, but I am unable to start Base Filtering Engine and as a consequence, Windows Firewall and getting 'Error 5: Access is Denied' message.

Both are set to Automatic in Services.

The Registry for BFE looks OK AFAICT. Windows 7 threads mention a Permissions entry for BFE that your should set to 'Everyone', but my win10 desktop with the issue, and another two systems one with Win10 and the other 8.1, don't have a Permissions entry for BFE.

When this issue first arose I was also unable to access the internet. I fixed that with three CMD lines that I am afraid I can't find the reference to now,

The system has been a wee bit sick for about three weeks, with Narrator randomly firing up plus a big bunch of Explorer windows.

When I run the MS Firewall troubleshooter I get: (sorry about the bad format)

Windows Firewall Troubleshooter

Publisher details

Issues found
Windows Firewall service is not started Windows Firewall service is not started Windows Firewall service is not running or is not started.	Not fixed	[IMG]res://sdiageng.dll/error.png[/IMG]
Start Windows Firewall service Completed

Potential issues that were checked
Cannot Access Shared Files and Printers Cannot Access Shared Files and Printers You cannot access shared files and printers even though you have enabled File and Printer Sharing in Windows.	Issue not present
Remote Assistance is not working Remote Assistance is not working Remote Assistance is not working even though you have enabled Remote Assistance in Windows.	Issue not present
Windows could not start Windows Firewall Windows could not start Windows Firewall On a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Vista, you find that the Windows Firewall service is not running. When you try to manually start the service, you receive the following error message: "Windows could not start the Windows Firewall, DHCP client, or Diagnostic Policy on Local Computer. For more information, review the System Event Log. If this is a non-Microsoft service, contact the service vendor, and refer to service-specific error code 5."	Issue not present
Windows could not start Windows Firewall BFE service Windows could not start Windows Firewall BFE service On a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Vista, the Windows Firewall service is not running. When you try to manually start the service, you receive the following error message "Windows could not start the Windows Firewall, DHCP client, or Diagnostic Policy on Local Computer. For more information, review the System Event Log. For more information, review the System Event Log. If this is a non-Microsoft service, contact the service vendor, and refer to service-specific error code 5."	Issue not present

Issues found

Detection details

6 Windows Firewall service is not started Not fixed [IMG]res://sdiageng.dll/error.png[/IMG]

Windows Firewall service is not running or is not started.

Start Windows Firewall service Completed Starting the Windows Firewall service resolves this problem.

Potential issues that were checked

Detection details

Cannot Access Shared Files and Printers Issue not present

You cannot access shared files and printers even though you have enabled File and Printer Sharing in Windows.

Remote Assistance is not working Issue not present

Remote Assistance is not working even though you have enabled Remote Assistance in Windows.

Windows could not start Windows Firewall Issue not present

On a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Vista, you find that the Windows Firewall service is not running. When you try to manually start the service, you receive the following error message: "Windows could not start the Windows Firewall, DHCP client, or Diagnostic Policy on Local Computer. For more information, review the System Event Log. If this is a non-Microsoft service, contact the service vendor, and refer to service-specific error code 5."

Windows could not start Windows Firewall BFE service Issue not present

On a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Vista, the Windows Firewall service is not running. When you try to manually start the service, you receive the following error message "Windows could not start the Windows Firewall, DHCP client, or Diagnostic Policy on Local Computer. For more information, review the System Event Log. For more information, review the System Event Log. If this is a non-Microsoft service, contact the service vendor, and refer to service-specific error code 5."

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I'll be building a new system as soon as I can make my mind up about i9X and Threadripper, and handing this box to my wife, so it would be easy to do a clean OS install at that time. Meanwhile, if I can't fix the Firewall, I am wondering how much risk I am taking?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

That fixed it! :)

I have tried so many things from so many web sites, including the MS troubleshooters and BFE and Windows Firewall repair apps, but none of them helped. When I ran the Tweaking.com app lines were scrolling too fast to read properly, but I saw a number of 'Access Denied' lines. Then it ran another bunch of lines, and after a restart, my system was pretty much sorted. I had a wee struggle with one of my printers, but the HP trouble shooters sorted that out.

So thanks for your help. A buddy told me this was the place to go for reliable and informed help, and he was not wrong. :)

I spoke too soon. After finding that Windows Firewall was now working, I then discovered that no Office 365 apps would open. But worse was to come... The next time I restarted the computer repeatedly boots to BSODs, and the repair options do not work. None of my data is on the C: drive, so I have placed Windows 10 install files on a USB drive, but am so far unable to get my Gigabyte X79-UD5 board to boot from the USB. I'll start a new thread as this issue was solved.