5 Best Ways To Resolve “Failed to connect to Windows service” Error

The “Failed to connect to a Windows service” error typically occurs when you are unable to connect to a Windows service on your PC. For example, you may get the error when trying to connect to System Event Notification Service, Group Policy Client Service, or others.

The “Windows service start failure” error may also occur when you are trying to sign in into your computer as an Administrator. In this blog, we’ll discuss some of the best ways to fix the issue.

How To Resolve “Failed To Connect To Windows Service” On Windows 11/10

Solution No.1 – Use netsh winsock reset Command

The error in question may have occurred because of issues with the System Event Notification Service which is caused by the Winsock catalog. In this case, you can try resetting it using the Administrative Command Prompt –

Step 1 – In the Windows search bar, type Command  and click on Run as administrator from the right-hand side.

Step 2 – Click on Yes when the UAC prompt appears

Step 3 – When the administrative Command Prompt opens, type netsh and press Enter.

Step 4 – Next, type winsock reset and press Enter.

Step 5 – Restart your PC and check if the problem is fixed or not.

Solution No.2 – Delete Windows Log Files

Log files are generated by Windows or other applications to record important system operations. They even record any errors in Windows or other programs.

However, corrupted Windows log files may lead to “failed to connect Windows service” error. To fix this, you can delete Windows log files using the steps mentioned below –

Step 1 – Open the File Explorer.

Step 2 – Enter the path C:\Windows\System32\winevt or C:\Windows\System32\config in the address bar, and press Enter.

Step 3 – Select the log items you want to delete and hit the Delete button.

Once you have done that, check if you have been able to fix the issue or not.

Solution No.3 – Use Registry Editor

It is likely that an incoming update may have interfered with services like Group Policy Client Service. As a result users aren’t able to login. You can straighten things up, and realign configurations by making changes in the registry as mentioned below –

Step 1 – Press Windows + R and type regedit in the dialog box. Press Enter.

 

Step 2 – When the Registry Editor window opens, navigate to the below-mentioned path –

 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Services

Step 3 – While staying on the left-hand pane, locate the folder named gpsvc. In it, navigate to the folder named SvcHost.

 

Please note – It is important that you are careful and don’t make changes to any other key. We also urge you to take a backup of your registries before making any changes.

Step 4 – Right-click on SvcHost, and select New > Multi-String Value. You will see that a new registry value has appeared on the right-hand side. Rename it to GPSvcGroup.

Step 5 – Double-click on it to replace any content in the Value data and click on OK.

Step 6 – On the left-hand pane, you may have to create a new key within the SvcHost. To do that right-click on it > New > Key. Rename the key to GPSvcGroup.

Step 7 – In GPSvcGroup, create two DWORD (32-bit) values. Rename the first value to AuthenticationCapabilities, and set its Value data to 12320, using Decimal as its base.

Step 8 – Rename the second value to CoInitializeSecurityParam with a Value data of 1.

Close the Registry Editor, restart your computer to check if the problem exists or not.

Solution No.4 – Disable Windows Font Cache Service

Windows Font Cache Service is an essential service that helps the system load certain fonts that are frequently used by applications.

That said, it can sometimes create issues. You can disable the Windows Font Cache Service and check if the issue is fixed or not. To do that –

Step 1 – Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog box.

Step 2 – Type services.msc and hit the Enter key.

Step 3 – Right-click on Windows Font Cache Service, and select Stop.

Step 4 – Again open the Run dialog box and type %localappdata% and press Enter.

Step 5 – Locate FontCache DAT and hit the Delete button.

Step 6 – Go back to the Services window, right-click on Windows Font Cache Service, and select Start.

Solution No.5 – Perform A Clean Boot

The “Failed to connect to Windows service” error may arise because of a conflicting third-party software. You can troubleshoot the issue by performing a Clean Boot. This step will help you start Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs.

You will easily be able to find out if there is an application which is causing an issue and subsequently you can go ahead and remove it completely.

Since we know that this can be slightly tricky for a new user, here’s a step by step guide on how to perform a clean boot on Windows. Once you have performed a Clean Boot, restart your computer to check if the issue is resolved or not.

Were You Able To Fix The Issue?

As can be seen in the post, the “Failed to connect to Windows service” can occur because of a variety of reasons such as issues with the System Event Notification Service, corrupt log files, conflicting third party apps, and many others.

Here we have discussed ways you can tackle all such issues and fix the error. If you found value in the post, do let us know in the comments section below. For more such content, keep reading Tweak Library.