Windows Vista Ultimate. New Dell D630 (O.S. factory installed). Sudden
inability to communicate with network either by Wi-Fi, ethernet card, or
Verizon Broadband wireless service. The message on the WiFi indicator says
Dependency service or group failed to start. The diagnosis utility says the
computer doesn't have a network card installed or configured. Everything was
working fine until all three stopped working. The Bluetooth module is still
working. Any help (and solutions) much appreciated.

Tony

I spent some time with Dell talking about this issue. System restore didn't
correct the problem. We checked out services and their dependencies. Before
going to the ultimate (and worst case) solution which would be to re-install
the O.S., I ran cmd/sfc /scannow which is the Windows file checker. It
corrected some errors and now things are working again.

I commend Dell for helping me fix what was clearly a problem caused by
faulty Microsoft software.

As someone who's used computers for almost 30 years, it still very
frustrating that errors like system file corruptions occur in a brand new
O.S., and that the system isn't capable of automatically identifying faults
and correcting them itself. Users should not have to dig around in Windows
services. Ideally, a computer would identify that all is not well and either
fix it itself, or connect to a Microsoft website for a comprehensive
diagnosis and repair of all damaged files.

Tony

Hi Tony,

I am having the same problem -- only with a new Toshiba Satellite. I have
been unable to run the file checker, i.e., I can't seem to find it. Can you
give me the entire sequence or tell me how to find it? Thanks loads!

Sorry for not seeing your reply and question until now.

Begin with Start (bottom left of your desktop). Where is stays ''Start
search', enter 'cmd'. A new window opens. Type 'sfc /scannow' and that
begins the scan and repair process. This is what I did and it worked for me.
No guarantees it's going to fix your problem. As I said, it's crazy that this
kind of software error can occur in 2008.

Good luck.

That helped SO MUCH!!!! Thank you!!!!

I don't know if anyone will see this at all, but I have been having the same "Dependency service or group failed to start" problem. It just occurred the other night.

I did try the cmd sfc/scannow, but it told me that I must be an administrator running a console session and I'm not sure what they are telling me to do.

Any help would be appreciated.

Also, I feel like part of this problem is stemming from a problem with my Dell not recognizing my charger. It will keep the laptop powered, but it won't charge the laptop. I'm sitting at 0% charge whenever I'm working on my laptop and am on Power Saver power plan which makes things run slowly and less efficiently.

Any solution for that problem would be appreciated as well.

Thank you.

You may be more fortunate than me. I have had the same error too, and as a
result, I haven't been able to connect to the Internet. Is this the same with
you.

As for the sfc/scannow command, you can temporarily designate yourself as an
administrator. If you click on the Start Orb and type in 'cmd' in the search
box, one of the results should be the Command Prompt shell. Right click on
that and choose 'Run as administrator' and then you will be able to use that
command. Perhaps it will work for you. When I ran it, it said that one file
was corrupted and this file doesn't seem like it can be fixed (npmproxy.dll).

I have problems with services which seems like yours.
After installing SP1 I can't use network services. It says "dependency
service failed to start" etc.
I cant rollback the SP1 setup (coz I haven't made restore point before,
haven't Vista DVD).
What should I do?

Go to Start>Run and type in services.msc then press Enter. In the
window that opens find Print Spooler on the right, right-click it and
select Properties. Go to the Recovery tab and change all 3 drop-down
boxes to Restart The Service. Make sure the 2 text boxes underneath say
1 in them. Click Ok until you are back at the Services window, close it
and you're good to go.

Now when ever your Print Spooler craps out, it will automatically reset
itself.

I've been having problems with my computer giving me the dependency
service or group failed to start on my internet. I'm connected to the
internet but it claims that the connection status is unknown and when I
try to run the sfc/scannow it says "there is a system repair pending
which requires reboot to complete. restart windows and run sfc again".
When I restarted my computer and tried again, it gave me the same
message. My computer has also been unable to check for updates or to
actually install them. I have windows vista and my computer is a
Gateway.