There
are many situations in which a user may need to disable / enable the Windows
Firewall application. However, a common problem is the disabling of the ability
to turn the firewall off from the graphical application. Users will see that
any option available is grayed out, and nothing can be chosen. However, the
firewall can be disabled through another route.
Note: Before you start save the registry preferably on a separate media from the computer hard drive. This will be used in the event of an unrecoverable error.
Launch the regedit application. This application can be launched by clicking on the "Start" button in Windows, and typing "regedit" into the "Run" box.
Export the registry. This can be done by clicking on the "File" menu option of regedit, then clicking on the "Export" option. A dialog box will open requesting the location for saving the registry.
Note: Before you start save the registry preferably on a separate media from the computer hard drive. This will be used in the event of an unrecoverable error.
Launch the regedit application. This application can be launched by clicking on the "Start" button in Windows, and typing "regedit" into the "Run" box.
Export the registry. This can be done by clicking on the "File" menu option of regedit, then clicking on the "Export" option. A dialog box will open requesting the location for saving the registry.
Locate Windows Firewall by following this path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsFirewall.
Delete the "WindowsFirewall" branch by right-clicking on
the "WindowsFirewall" branch and choosing the option to delete.
Answer the confirmation to complete the deletion and Restart
Windows.
After the reboot open the Windows Firewall application by double-clicking on
the icon for Windows Firewall in Control Panel. The options will no longer be
grayed out, allowing the firewall to be turned off / on by selecting the
appropriate radio button next to the option.
Click "OK"
to save the settings.
