Member Avatar for sampson

I have bought a used computer from work for a family member. Have completed all updates on it and SP2 is now installed. Tried turning on firewall but it gives me a message that it cannot be turned on as it is being monitored and controlled by network.(or something like that). How can I turn the firewall back on. Supposedly all these computers were wiped of information and XP put back in....and help is appreciated.

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This is a classic result of a used, corporate machine still carrying policy settings. As noted, SP2 reports that the firewall “is being monitored/controlled by Group Policy” — that means a Group Policy object (local or domain) is locking the firewall controls. The fact that ’s local policy edit restored the firewall confirms it was a policy restriction rather than a missing service or corrupted files.

Useful follow-ups to prevent the problem returning:

  • Check whether the PC is still joined to a domain (My Computer → Properties → Computer Name). If it still belongs to the company domain, any domain GPO will overwrite local changes whenever the machine contacts that network; the long‑term fixes are to have the domain admins remove the computer from their domain or perform a clean OS reinstall and join a workgroup.
  • Verify the firewall/ICS service and any third‑party security suites. Some security packages take over firewall control and hide or block the Windows UI.
  • If only local policy is the issue and a reset is acceptable, back up and rename the local policy folder (%windir%\System32\GroupPolicy) so Windows regenerates defaults, then reboot. Keep a backup of the folder before changing anything.

A few extra notes tied to earlier replies: gpedit.msc is an XP Pro tool (not present on Home), so that approach only applies on Pro installs. Hardware NAT (router) or a trusted third‑party firewall are valid alternatives mentioned by and , but for a secondhand corporate machine a clean reinstall is the safest long‑term solution to avoid hidden domain restrictions or leftover enterprise tooling.

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Member Avatar for BinaryMayhem

intresting... can't help much with out an exact error message... this is to vague.
and, if your realling looking for a firewall... I would seriously consider a hardware firewall (consider a router from best buy or something)... software firewalls eat up system resources, prown to attack, and hijacking.

Member Avatar for pcpalct

Okay - is this the error you are getting:
"For your security, some settings are controlled by Group Policy, the setting might be managed by Group Policy."

If so ... might be able to help...

Member Avatar for sampson

Okay - is this the error you are getting:
"For your security, some settings are controlled by Group Policy, the setting might be managed by Group Policy."

If so ... might be able to help...

Sorry for the vagueness. I thought I had emailed myself the wording but I did not..:(

I believe that is the message that appears when I try to turn on the XP firewall.

Thanks. :cheesy:

Member Avatar for sampson

Okay - is this the error you are getting:
"For your security, some settings are controlled by Group Policy, the setting might be managed by Group Policy."

If so ... might be able to help...

HELP :cry:

Member Avatar for rasputinj

are there group policies on the PC, or can you log in as admin and make the change. I do not believe there are any local policies that cover the firewall, but it could not hurt to check them out.

Member Avatar for sampson

I do not believe there are any other users listed on the computer other than the person listed as admin.

Member Avatar for sampson

I am going to give this one last bump. I have tried everything that I can think of but cannot get XP firewall to become active...need to get rid of the group policy restriction...

Member Avatar for gemini4

If you bring up Start, choose Run and type in there gpedit.msc what happens?

Member Avatar for sampson

it opens to group policy window but I have no idea what to do from there.....:(

Member Avatar for gemini4

I just wanted to make sure you have XP Pro first before I went hunting for the policy in my other instalation of XP.

In gpedit.msc under Computer Configuration go to Administrative Templates and then go to Network and then Network Connections and under there you have Domain profile and Standard profile. Make sure under both profiles the Protect All Network Conections policy is Enabled and all the other policies are Not configured.

Lets see if that does it.

Member Avatar for sampson

I just wanted to make sure you have XP Pro first before I went hunting for the policy in my other instalation of XP.

In gpedit.msc under Computer Configuration go to Administrative Templates and then go to Network and then Network Connections and under there you have Domain profile and Standard profile. Make sure under both profiles the Protect All Network Conections policy is Enabled and all the other policies are Not configured.

Lets see if that does it.

That did the trick....:) YIPEEEEE
Gemini14, I thank you for your expertise and knowledge. Thanks to all who had some input.:)


:)

Member Avatar for gemini4

That did the trick....:) YIPEEEEE
Gemini14, I thank you for your expertise and knowledge. Thanks to all who had some input.:)


:)

Hey you're most welcome! I'm glad I could help you out.

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