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Unable to activate firewall, connect to internet after repair in XP Pr


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#1
THX1136

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In the process of getting my manager's PC running reliably I determined that I should try to repair XP. As I do not have the original disc(s) I borrowed a genuine Microsoft XP Pro disc from a friend. I followed the steps provided here at GTG and things went well up to the product key step. The PC is not a Dell although the Dell start screen comes up. I am assuming it was an OEM install. I retrieved the key code using the Magic key finder. I triple checked it with the Microsoft tag on the PC. I entered that key and got an invalid key response. The case the disc was in had a key code written on it. I entered that code and the repair completed successfully.

At the end of everything I got an activation notice. I did the activation by phone and it appeared to be successful. I restarted the PC and wanted to activate the firewall - I had the PC completely disconnected from the net at this point - as advised here at GTG. I get an error message stating that Windows cannot activate the "ICS" services.

I tried hooking in the net cable and running Windows Update. I get an error message that mentions something about a "Kernelxxxx". I also cannot connect with IE nor Chrome. I checked in Control Panels/Network Connections and the connection appears to be active.

How should I proceed to rememdy this situation? Thanks in advance for any help offered.

Edited by THX1136, 11 January 2012 - 02:47 PM.

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#2
Ztruker

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Open a Command Prompt, type Netsh winsock reset and press Enter. Reboot then try the firewall.

If that doesn't do it or doesn't work, try netsh int ip reset c:\reset.log
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#3
THX1136

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Thank you! I will try this tomorrow at work and post results. I appreciate your time on this question.
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#4
THX1136

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I tried your suggestions. Here is the outcome. I went to Run and put in the first suggestion. I got a window which said "Due to an unidentified problem Windows cannot display Windows Firewall settings."

I tried the second suggestion the same way. Result: "Windows Firewall cannot be displayed because the associated service is not running. Do you want to start the Windows Firewall/ICS service?" I clicked "yes" and got the following: "Windows cannot start the Windows Firewall/ICS Service." This is the result I received that prompted my original query.

Did I make the wrong assumption that going to Run is the same as the Command Prompt? A black window "flashed" after each try using Run as my starting point. I was thinking that was the Command prompt window. Thanks again for your help.

Added info: I decided to find and try the Command Prompt - self doubt is helpful sometimes. Entering the first suggestion gave this result: "Could not obtain host information from machine: [RECEPT-WS]. Some commands may not be available. No such interface supported. The following command was not found: winsock reset."

I then tried the 2nd suggestion and recieved the same basic results as above with the last sentence being absent.

Edited by THX1136, 11 January 2012 - 09:40 AM.

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#5
Ztruker

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Do you have any other firewall installed, like Zone Alarm or Comodo? What about anti-virus software? What do you have installed?

Also, check to see if these services are started and set to Automatic:

Network Connections
Windows Management Instrumentation

both require Remote Procedure Call(RPC)

To check, click on Start then Run, type services.msc and press Enter.
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#6
Ztruker

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Got a note from one of the other techs here with the following suggestion:

Call the "Setup API InstallHinfSection" function to install Windows Firewall

To install Windows Firewall, follow these steps:

Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
At the command prompt, type (copy and paste is easier and more accurate) the following command line, and then press ENTER:

Rundll32 setupapi,InstallHinfSection Ndi-Steelhead 132 %windir%\inf\netrass.inf

Restart Windows,

Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

Netsh firewall reset

Click Start, click Run, type firewall.cpl, and then press ENTER. In the Windows Firewall dialog box, click On (recommended), and then click OK.


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#7
THX1136

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I am not aware of any other firewall being installed. Symatec Anti-Virus is installed, but to my knowledge is not current. It does not appear to be running. Before I started this process a pop up would appear on the lower right of the task bar saying it was in need of updating. It has not been updated.

I am assuming from your question that if those items are not set to automatic that I should set them to auto. I will proceed with that in mind performing your first suggestion and then moving to the second. I may not be able to get to this tomorrow depending on how my work load falls. I will post the results when I have tried the suggestions.

On the 2nd suggestion - as I do not have the PC I'm working on online - I cannot copy/paste the command line. I will enter carefully. :o)

Thanks again for your assistance.
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#8
THX1136

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I checked to see if the two items were set to auto. Network Connections was not - it is now. WMI was set to auto. As an aside while I was in there I looked at the Windows Firewall/ICS "entry". It was not running. I right clicked Properties to see where it was set out of curiosity. It was set to auto. I clicked "start" to see what would happen. I received this message:

"The Windows Firewall/ICS Service on Local Computer started then stopped. Some services stop automatically if they have no work to do, for example, the Performances Logs and Alerts service."

Tried to start firewall using firewall.cpl at this point. No success.

Went to second suggestion. Results: After copying and pasting the string in I restarted. Input the rest according to directions. When trying to run firewall.cpl I received the same message I did before:

"Warning: Could not obtain host information from machine [RECEPT-WS]. Some commands may not be available. No such interface supported."

Here's some additional info: when I tried to connect to the net originally I got this message: "The procedure entry point GetProcessHandleCount could not be located in the dynamic link library KERNEL32.dll." I mentioned this originally but did not have the exact message in my memory. Figured I should be thorough so you would have accurate info.

I double checked on other firewalls and/or anti-virus. The only things I could see from the "programs" menu were Symatec Anti-Virus and Windows Defender. The two you mentioned were not evident.

This would suggest to me that some files did not get placed where they should be when I did the repair(just thinking out loud). How should I proceed? Again, thank you for your time and assistance. It is greatly appreciated.

Edited by THX1136, 12 January 2012 - 11:21 AM.

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#9
Ztruker

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At this point, I would recommend saving any data your manager does not want to lose then do a Clean Install of XP rather than a Repair. That will put everything where it's supposed to be and should fix this problem.

How to do a clean install:
Clean Install- WhatTheTech
Clean Install - Michael Stevens Tech

Once you do that you will need to install SP1 if the XP install disc no service pack then SP3. If it already has SP1/SP1a or Sp2 then you can proceed directly to SP3. Then install all updates. This is a lengthy process, takes me 4+ hours.

You can download SP1 .exe here: Windows XP Service Pack 1: XP SP1 (now called SP1a)

You can download the SP3 .exe here: Windows XP Service Pack 3 Network Installation Package for IT Professionals and Developers

I would recommend downloading them on another computer and putting them on a flash drive or CD to use on this computer.
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#10
Ztruker

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Did get one more suggestion to try. See here: You cannot start the Windows Firewall service in Windows XP SP2.

Scroll down to Method 2: Add the Windows Firewall entry to the registry as you've already tried Method 1.

Also, right at the bottom it says: If these methods do not work, reinstall Windows XP SP2.

I don't know what service pack level the XP Pro install disc was at that you used, but if it's SP2 then it would be worth trying this before doing a Clean Install.

You can download SP2 .exe here: Windows XP Service Pack 2 Network Installation Package for IT Professionals and Developers

If it is at SP2 you could also try SP3 instead of SP2 as SP3 contains everything in SP2 plus additional fixes and files. If it's at SP1/SP1a then do SP3.
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#11
Ztruker

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One last thing (from the malware folks here). If you don't do a Clean Install you need to uninstall ComboFix:

Uninstall ComboFix:

  • Click on Start >> Run...
  • Now type in ComboFix /Uninstall into the and click OK.
  • Note the space between the X and the /Uninstall, it needs to be there.
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#12
THX1136

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Thanks Z! I was hoping to avoid a Clean Install, but that's okay I guess. The only things on the boot drive are programs. I moved all the docs and other similar stuff off the c drive and onto a second installed drive. I will probably not try the mod to the registry - that makes me a bit nervous. The weird thing about this whole process is I was, amongst a few other things, trying to get the printer to work. (which it now does, but these other issues have arisen.) I will check out the tutorials and proceed.

Again, thank you for all your time and effort in this. I do sincerely appreciate it!
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#13
Ztruker

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Why not try the registry hack. If you're going to reinstall anyway, you have nothing to lose and if it does fix the problem you're way ahead of the game.

You can create the .reg file on another PC then put it on a flash drive to run on this one.

Ditto for SP2/SP3. Download on another computer, put on flash drive, install here.
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#14
THX1136

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You make a good point. It would save a lot of "catching up" on the software side of things. I guess I'll consider it more seriously and go from there. Aside from getting the firewall running I also hope this allows the connection to the net to work again.

Again, many thanks.
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#15
Ztruker

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One last recommendation from our malware folks:

Uninstall your anti-virus. In your case it's Symantec. Even though it doesn't look like it's running it's still got hooks into the system and can cause firewall problems.

I would recommend using the Norton Removal Tool rather than Add or Remove Programs. It does a much better job of cleaning up the mess Norton/Symantec leaves with a normal uninstall.

Download and run the Norton Removal Tool to uninstall your Norton product


When I use it I click on the I have a Norton 2006/2007/2008/2009/2010/2011 product link.
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