Windows wireless service is not running on this computer

Anonymous
2010-02-10T22:15:23+00:00

I have a Gateway laptop running 32-bit Vista SP2 I am unable to connect to any wireless networks. One day I had no problems and the next, I am unable to find any networks.  When I attempt to connect to a network I receive a message that Windows can't find any networks.  When the diagnose why link is clicked I get an error dialogue box that "Windows Wireless Service is not running on this computer". When the Windows network diagnostics dialogue box appears I click on "Start Windows Wireless Service" and then am told that Windows cannot fix the problem and instructs me to contact my network admin or ISP.

I have tried several fixes from different forums and nothing has worked.  I've run virus scans that haven't detected anything.  Is there a fix for this issue?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Internet and connectivity

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Anonymous
2010-02-11T16:44:55+00:00

Hi,

  1. Did you check the status of wireless service i.e. WLAN AutoConfig in services window?
  2. Do you've any security software installed on the computer?
  3. Did you make any changes on the computer recently?

Let's first try to start the wireless service i.e. WLAN AutoConfig service manually. To do this, login to the computer as an administrator.

  1. Click Start, type services.msc and hit enter.
  2. Locate WLAN AutoConfig service, double click on it to open its properties window.
  3. Under General tab, change the Startup type to Automatic and click Start button.
  4. Click Apply and then ok.

Try to connect to the wireless connection and check the result.

If the service still fails to start, then run system file checker tool to scan the computer for corrupt system files and fix them automatically. To run sfc scan, try the steps mentioned in this link: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929833

For more information about the wireless settings, check this link: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb878035.aspx

Let us know the result of the above troubleshooting steps, so that we can look into more details and assist you further.

Regards,

Syed V

Microsoft answers support engineer.

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-10-30T20:36:49+00:00

    Hi

    I have this problem and followed both steps with no resolution.  Windows did not find any integrity violations.  What else can I do?

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-08-02T14:56:56+00:00

    I just installed windows 10 on my laptop (sony vaio) and now I get the wlan autoconfig will not start, so I have not wireless capability.  The device manager shows my wireless device is fine.  I tried the device that is working on my workstation with windows 10 and it still does not start.  It says something about dependencies did not start.  I read some comment somewhere that somebody fixed it via Microsoft support by removing the dependencies from the registry.  I have no clue what to remove though.  

    At this point my laptop is dead until this is resolved.  I would appreciate help on this.

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-02-05T13:09:05+00:00

    worked!Perfect!!Thanks!!

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  4. Anonymous
    2015-01-17T16:58:56+00:00

    There are two entries of "WLAN AutoConfig service" , after I started them and rebooted wireless works. Thanks.

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