• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Technipages

Tutorials and fixes for smartphone, gadget, and computer problems

  • Topics
    • Android
    • Browsers
    • Gaming
    • Hardware
    • Internet
    • iPhone
    • Linux
    • macOS
    • Office
    • Reviews
    • Software
    • Windows
    • Definitions
  • Product Reviews
  • Downloads
  • About

Windows: Fix “Windows resource protection could not start the repair service” Error

August 5, 2017 by Mitch Bartlett 35 Comments

Microsoft Windows users may encounter a problem when attempting to use the “SFC /SCANNOW” command where they receive an error that says:

Windows Resource Protection could not start the repair service.

Follow these steps to attempt to fix the problem.

wrp error

The error above is normally caused by the Windows Modules Installer service not being started. Start it with these steps.

  1. Select “Start” and type “CMD“.
  2. Right-click “Command Prompt” then choose “Run as administrator“.
  3. If prompted, enter a username and password that grants admin rights to the computer.
  4. Type “sc config trustedinstaller start= auto“, then press “Enter“. You should get a “SUCCESS” message.
  5. Type “net start trustedinstaller“, then press “Enter“. You should receive a message that the service was started.
    TrustedInstaller started

Now try the “sfc /scannow” command. It should work without issue now.

You Might Also Like

  • Windows: Fix ‘Multiple connections to a server or shared resource by the same user’ Error
    Windows: Fix ‘Multiple connections to a server or shared…
  • Fix for “The print spooler service is not running” Error in Windows
    Fix for “The print spooler service is not running” Error in…
  • Windows 10: Fix "The application was unable to start correctly (0xc0000018)" Error
    Windows 10: Fix "The application was unable to start…
  • What to Do When the Windows 10 Start Menu Won't Start
    What to Do When the Windows 10 Start Menu Won't Start
  • Fix: Windows Automatic Repair Loop, No Admin Account
    Fix: Windows Automatic Repair Loop, No Admin Account
  • Enable or Disable Windows File Protection
    Enable or Disable Windows File Protection

Filed Under: Windows Tagged With: Windows 10

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. John says

    June 26, 2020 at 12:23 am

    Thanks Dayton! Your advice to include the path(s) did the trick for me!

  2. Lynne says

    March 1, 2019 at 6:34 am

    Dayton March 23 2018
    THANK YOU Dayton…..your tip finally did the trick. After trying everything people said on so many sites, your suggestion was the magic solution.
    Thank the Lord “you thought you’d mention” it.

  3. Xwild says

    February 8, 2019 at 12:30 am

    Please make sure you have your virus protection off.
    I updated the avast and i notice the problem in windows 10.
    now the system is working.
    Avast install it own browser with out permission and it mess up the start up and corrupted some files.

  4. tazmo8448 says

    January 21, 2019 at 8:46 pm

    no none of the tips would get the TrustedInstaller to fire up which is the back bone to having DISM & SFC /SCANNOW work…going to install the OS again…only thing I can see to do when none of the tips work.

  5. Keith says

    September 26, 2018 at 7:57 am

    If you still have an issue, make sure the service “Background Intelligent Transfer Service” (BITS) is running.

  6. Steve says

    July 13, 2018 at 1:05 am

    Yep running 64 bit and that worked :)

  7. M Bush says

    June 24, 2018 at 4:39 pm

    The trusted installer / windows module installer service started fine (actually, it was already started), but I STILL get the exact same message: “Windows resource protection could not start the repair service”

    Thousands of people have the exact same problem (I’ve scoured a great many sites which also do NOT provide a solution to this problem of continuing to get the same error message no matter how many times we confirm that the trustedinstaller service is running and also trying stopping and then restarting the service.

    Why can’t anyone provide a WORKING solution??

  8. Eduardo says

    May 28, 2018 at 4:24 am

    Thank you very much it was Magic.

  9. Dayton says

    March 23, 2018 at 3:40 pm

    Working on a PC which was severely violated with malware. Trying to clean up.

    Found that both DISM and SFC had to have the path specified to the 64-bit versions, such as:

    • C:\Windows\SysNative\DISM /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
    – and –
    • C:\Windows\SysNative\SFC /scannow

    Uncertain whether this will actually correct all the problems, but at least it will get those two programs to run, so I thought I’d mention it.

  10. John says

    February 22, 2018 at 5:41 pm

    I still get “Windows resource protection could not start the repair service” Error….

    Not sure what else I can try. All the internet help is basically telling one to try the same steps. I appreciate helpful tips etc as above. But there should be some additional follow up to comments that say it did not work.
    Need something more concrete, like do I need to reinstall windows etc?

  11. tosty says

    November 10, 2017 at 5:33 pm

    clear and simple.

    thank you.

  12. Tracy says

    August 8, 2017 at 4:52 am

    Thank you, very much Mitch!

    I’m adding that one to my list of tricks– awesome sauce!

    Cheers from AU,

    ;)

  13. Ernest says

    June 1, 2017 at 12:07 am

    Just like “SCOTT” above.

    I still get the same error message. “Windows Resource Protection could not start the repair service”

    I got “SUCCESS” with the first command as well as what is listed above for the second command

    I have had no icons on anything and I am unable to view the properties of any file, folder, etc.

    The commands still work, just no icons. In the task manager it is now very difficult to stop running

    applications and do other fun stuff.

  14. Scott says

    March 22, 2017 at 6:20 am

    Still doesnt allow it to work for me… oh well :(

  15. Gary says

    March 14, 2017 at 4:42 pm

    @Ben : An amazing catch there! THANK YOU! *HOW* did you work that one out?

    I was using a 32 bit console called console2, and running as an administrator – was frustrating as hell as nothing worked. For me, this was the missing link in the chain. Really grateful man, as this has been bugging me for months. Microsoft really should have caught this one with a more meaningful error message… I wonder how many human years have been wasted from misleading error messages!

  16. Luis Bribiesca says

    March 13, 2017 at 2:18 pm

    What worked for me was to use window key + R key, then type services.msc
    Then double click Windows Modules Installer . It was disabled, so instartup type, i clicked manual, then clicked start, then clicked OK. After that i juat went to open the command prompt as administrator and ran the sfc /scannow

  17. Hjhcv says

    March 12, 2017 at 3:50 pm

    Thats did not fix it for me. It works but i get that Windows Resource Protection could not start the repair service. Still

  18. Josh J says

    February 20, 2017 at 6:21 pm

    My freaking hero! <3

  19. bren says

    February 19, 2017 at 7:57 am

    I had that just after a few weeeks I tried again and it (sfc) ran, was soon after boot I think.

  20. Jim Hillhouse says

    February 11, 2017 at 9:17 am

    started just fine, but says Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation?

  21. bren says

    January 14, 2017 at 8:12 pm

    my Windows Modules Installer service is running though I can see it in service an it say it is runnning.
    Services is of course the corect place to start it really you do not need to go to the command prompt

  22. Ben says

    December 15, 2016 at 5:00 pm

    You need to make sure you run “scf /scannow” from a 64 bit command window if your OS is 64 bit, otherwise you will keep getting this error.

  23. abbaty48 says

    December 10, 2016 at 6:58 am

    nice this work 100% for me
    Thanks you: technipages

  24. Tj Hawkins says

    December 4, 2016 at 7:44 am

    I did all the steps but in the end sfc /scannow still gets me the message “Windows Resource Protection could not start the repair service.”

  25. Alan Wilton says

    November 15, 2016 at 9:32 am

    It got to 66% then stopped and said –

    Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation.

  26. Matt says

    October 29, 2016 at 8:47 am

    This worked for me but in Step 4 you need a space after the “= ” sign for the command to work.

  27. Eric says

    October 22, 2016 at 10:05 am

    The first part worked for me, in other words I was successful with sc config trustedistaller start=auto….. However when I esysntered the command net start trusted installer I received this message. system error 2 has occured the system cannot find the file specified.

  28. Sammy says

    October 5, 2016 at 6:08 pm

    good work! saved my hours of work :)

  29. Carl says

    September 4, 2016 at 1:52 am

    worked for me… thank you,,,

  30. Bob says

    August 31, 2016 at 9:21 pm

    This failed for me too, the sc has ‘sc’ is not recognized as an internal or external command

  31. Paul says

    August 28, 2016 at 7:00 pm

    Awesome…

  32. Noorul Ameen says

    July 23, 2016 at 9:33 am

    Not working for me. It shows again the same error, Please help me

  33. Wow says

    June 11, 2016 at 12:00 pm

    You legend.

  34. Simon says

    June 10, 2016 at 5:04 am

    This worked for me on Windows Server 2012 R2. Thanks!

  35. Andrew Garcia says

    April 5, 2016 at 1:56 am

    instead of Success, it says “Specified does not exist as an installed service”

Did this help? Let us know!

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • How to Print Labels from Excel Using MS Word Mail Merge
  • What Is NVMe Over TCP (NVMe/TCP)
  • Android Mobile Hotspot: How to Change the Password and Name
  • Windows 10: How to Force Quit and App
  • What is Dumpster Diving?
  • How to Download iOS 16 Beta 3 on iPhone or iPad
  • What is a Security Compromise?
  • Mastodon: How to DM Someone

Who’s Behind Technipages?

Baby and Daddy My name is Mitch Bartlett. I've been working in technology for over 20 years in a wide range of tech jobs from Tech Support to Software Testing. I started this site as a technical guide for myself and it has grown into what I hope is a useful reference for all.

You May Also Like

  • Windows 95/98
  • Microsoft Windows NT
  • Microsoft Windows
  • Microsoft Windows 95
  • Windows Media Player (WMP)

© Copyright 2023 Guiding Tech Media · All Rights Reserved · Privacy