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
    2011-09-19T05:08:13+00:00

    I also have the same problem, It doesn't find any networks. Also checked for virus etc.

    There must be some thing to do about this, registry check, driver, whatever? I'm running Win7 64 Home Premium.

    I think it came after the last windows update I downloaded yesterday, have been waiting to do that though.

    I had this problem on my computer and I replaced some windows files that were corrupted. It was a little tricky but it solved the problem. Maybe this can help someone else. - First, I checked the services. I found out WLAN AutoConfig was not running because one of its dependencies, (or services it depends on), was not running. I used the link   http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929833  and found some good help there too. All you have to do is, once you get the scan details as shown in the link above, just look for the file that is corrupted... it's a simple file, in my case it was eapphost.dll and autochk (.exe). - These are located in the windows system 32 folder. Another thing to note here is that the scan details have a lot of "geek squeak" or a lot of computer language that I personally do not understand. Well, just look for the file... It should have a simple file name like "eapphost.dll" and it should be in quotation marks. I just copied the files from the windows.old folder and replaced them using the mouse. (You will have to get permission to do this first, as I did also.) I did have a little trouble getting the command prompt to work for granting me permission to replace the files that were corrupted. So I went to the file properties menu and did some poking around in the security tab... I changed ownership of the file to "administrator" rather than "system" and this allowed me to replace the file. (Yes, you will get a message saying this will make your system less secure. - Change it back when you are done if you want to... I didn't bother.) As I mentioned above I got the good file from the windows.old folder. If you have another computer running windows 7 you could copy it from there too. (There's good reason to save your windows.old folder.) Well, I hope this might help someone. Thanks.

    P.S. Don't be offended by the term "geek squeak".... the rest of us would be lost without you!

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  2. Anonymous
    2011-08-03T00:38:33+00:00

    just check on the WLAN AutoConfig in services ... if its not running try to start it and set it run automatically ...

    if u had a problem with that run the system files scan by opening the cmd window and type

    sfc /scannow

    then press enter

    wait the scan to finish and repair files and try to run the service again ...  it should work fine

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  3. Anonymous
    2011-11-04T22:42:45+00:00

    I got the same problem as antgaudi with error 1747 and managed to solve it like this:

    * Get a elevated command prompt (i.e., a command prompt running as administrator - you can find instructions on how to do this here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929833 )

    * Type netsh winsock reset* When that finishes, it'll say that you need to need to restart your computer.

    * Do that.

    * Success! (at least for me)


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  4. Anonymous
    2011-09-19T05:09:45+00:00

    I had this problem on my computer and I replaced some windows files that were corrupted. It was a little tricky but it solved the problem. Maybe this can help someone else.

    • First, I checked the services. I found out WLAN AutoConfig was not running because one of its dependencies, (or services it depends on), was not running. I used the link   http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929833  and found some good help there too. All you have to do is, once you get the scan details as shown in the link above, just look for the file that is corrupted... it's a simple file, in my case it was eapphost.dll and autochk (.exe). - These are located in the windows system 32 folder. Another thing to note here is that the scan details have a lot of "geek squeak" or a lot of computer language that I personally do not understand. Well, just look for the file... It should have a simple file name like "eapphost.dll" and it should be in quotation marks. I just copied the files from the windows.old folder and replaced them using the mouse. (You will have to get permission to do this first, as I did also.) I did have a little trouble getting the command prompt to work for granting me permission to replace the files that were corrupted. So I went to the file properties menu and did some poking around in the security tab... I changed ownership of the file to "administrator" rather than "system" and this allowed me to replace the file. (Yes, you will get a message saying this will make your system less secure. - Change it back when you are done if you want to... I didn't bother.) As I mentioned above I got the good file from the windows.old folder. If you have another computer running windows 7 you could copy it from there too. (There's good reason to save your windows.old folder.) Well, I hope this might help someone. Thanks.

    P.S. Don't be offended by the term "geek squeak".... the rest of us would be lost without you!

    Was this answer helpful?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
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