Windows 10: Windows Defender Firewall may not start, bfe.dll errors in the event logs,...

We're having an issue where some computers' especially laptops take an inordinate amount of time to start. The HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\BFE\Parameters\Policy\Persistent\Filter registry key is in excess of 250 MB. The event logs show bfe.dll crashing. Do you know of anything that would case the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\BFE\Parameters\Policy\Persistent\Filter registry key to grow so much?Thanks!

:)

 

ERROR 1068: Cannot start Firewall service


i found out from event viewer log 7001 that the issue was related to BFE Service (Basic filtering engine) i had to download a fix to BFE registry and another one for Windows Firewall. After running both, i was able start BFE Service and Firewall service. Now my Firewall is working, as well many other services that depend on Basic Filtering Engine.

 

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)
[table][tr][td]Windows Firewall Troubleshooter[/td] [td]Publisher details[/td] [/tr] [/table]

[table][tr][td]Issues found[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Windows Firewall service is not started Windows Firewall service is not started Windows Firewall service is not running or is not started.[/td] [td]Not fixed[/td] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr][td][table][tr][td]Start Windows Firewall service[/td] [td]Completed[/td] [/tr] [/table]
[/td] [/tr] [/table] [table][tr][td]Potential issues that were checked[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]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.[/td] [td]Issue not present[/td] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Remote Assistance is not working Remote Assistance is not working Remote Assistance is not working even though you have enabled Remote Assistance in Windows.[/td] [td]Issue not present[/td] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr][td]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."[/td] [td]Issue not present[/td] [td][/td] [/tr] [tr][td]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."[/td] [td]Issue not present[/td] [td][/td] [/tr] [/table]
[table][tr][td]Issues found[/td] [td]Detection details[/td] [/tr] [/table]

[table][tr][td][table][tr][td]6[/td] [td]Windows Firewall service is not started[/td] [td]Not fixed[/td] [td][/td] [/tr] [/table]
[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Windows Firewall service is not running or is not started.[/td] [/tr] [tr][td][table][tr][td][table][tr][td]Start Windows Firewall service[/td] [td]Completed[/td] [/tr] [/table]
[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Starting the Windows Firewall service resolves this problem.[/td] [/tr] [/table][/td] [/tr] [/table]
[table][tr][td]Potential issues that were checked[/td] [td]Detection details[/td] [/tr] [/table]

[table][tr][td][table][tr][td][/td] [td]Cannot Access Shared Files and Printers[/td] [td]Issue not present[/td] [td][/td] [/tr] [/table]
[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]You cannot access shared files and printers even though you have enabled File and Printer Sharing in Windows.[/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [/tr] [/table] [table][tr][td][table][tr][td][/td] [td]Remote Assistance is not working[/td] [td]Issue not present[/td] [td][/td] [/tr] [/table]
[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]Remote Assistance is not working even though you have enabled Remote Assistance in Windows.[/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [/tr] [/table] [table][tr][td][table][tr][td][/td] [td]Windows could not start Windows Firewall[/td] [td]Issue not present[/td] [td][/td] [/tr] [/table]
[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]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."[/td] [/tr] [tr][td][/td] [/tr] [/table] [table][tr][td][table][tr][td][/td] [td]Windows could not start Windows Firewall BFE service[/td] [td]Issue not present[/td] [td][/td] [/tr] [/table]
[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]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."[/td] [/tr] [tr][td]_______________________________________________[/td] [/tr] [/table]





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.

 

Windows 10 / Firewall and Event Logs Issues

Have you tried to check the Status and Startup Type of Windows Firewall and Event log in the Services window? To do this, follow these steps:

• Press Win+R and type services.msc in the
  Run dialog box.
• Press Enter to open Services window.
• Scroll to Windows Firewall and Event log.
• Check the Status and Startup Type.
• Make sure it's set to Running and Automatic. If not, right-click the service and select
  Properties.
• Go to General tab and change the Startup type to
  Automatic.
• Under Services status, click Start.
• Click Apply then OK to save changes.

At the same time, we'd like to ask if you have been using the third-party anti-virus before switching to Windows Defender. To make sure that it does not create a conflict with the Windows Defender Firewall, we suggest that you also check if it has been completely
uninstalled. To know how, check this thread
and refer to Arun B J's response.

If all else fails, we recommend that you check for updates available for your PC as this may be a potential bug. To view the
Windows update history, check this article.

We will be waiting for the end result.