Nowadays, it is common to use computers and there will be malware attacks on your device. Thus, some of you will choose Malwarebytes to protect your computer, but sometimes Malwarebytes is unable to connect the Service.
Malwarebytes Unable to Connect the Service
When we click the icon of Malwarebytes, the circle starts rotating and after a while, the “Unable to connect the Service” error message will appear.
Why is Malwarebytes unable to connect the Service? There are many reasons for Malwarebytes unable to connect the Services or Malwarebytes not launching.
Context missing problems, installation errors, or other technical issues can lead to this issue. However, malware infection is one of the most common reasons for this problem.
There is no doubt that applications installed on infected systems can be affected by some malware and other malicious infections, especially anti-virus and Internet security software. Malwarebytes is no exception.
Methods to Fix Malwarebytes Unable to Connect the Service
We have already learned the reasons for Malwarebytes unable to connect the Service, then let’s see how to fix this error.
Solution 1: Check If There Is Something Wrong with Malwarebytes Service
First, we should check if there is something wrong with Malwarebytes service.
Step 1:Type services.mscin the Search box and right-click the first result to choose Run as administrator.
Step 2: Then locate, right-click Malwarebytes Service and click Properties.
Step 3: If any other setting has been enabled, we should locate the Startup type option and change it to Automatic.
Step 4: If the Service is not running, click Start to start it until its status changes to Running.
Note:We may receive the “Windows could not start the Security Center service on Local Computer. Error 1079: The account specified for this service differs from the account specified for other services running in the same process.” message when we click Start.
If this occurs, we can follow the next steps to fix it.
Step 1: Open Malwarebytes Services Properties. Navigate to the Log On tab, choose This account and click the Browse… button.
Step 2: Type our computer’s name and click Check Names. Then click OK.
Step 3: Type the administrator password in the Password box and click OK.
Step 4: At last, close this window and navigate back to Malwarebytes’ properties, then click Start.
If the “Malwarebytes is not working” issue still exists, we can try the second solution.
Solution 2: Reinstall Malwarebytes from Scratch
We can try reinstalling Malwarebytes to fix Malwarebytes unable to connect the Service permanently.
First, we should type regedit in the Search bar. Depending on our PC’s architecture, retrieve our ID and Key by using one of the locations below:
Location for Windows x86 32-Bit:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMalwarebytes’ Anti-Malware
Location for Windows x64 64-Bit:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREWow6432NodeMalwarebytes’ Anti-Malware
We can continue to perform the removal process. If we want to continue using the Premium version after uninstalling, see the following steps.
Step 1: Open MBAM and click My Account, then click Deactivate.
Step 2: Open Settings and click Advanced Settings, then uncheck the Enable self-protection module.
Step 3: Now we should download mbam-clean.exe from Malwarebytes’ site. Please close all open programs and disable our antivirus temporarily.
Step 4: Follow the instruction on screen after we run the mbam-clean.exe tool. When we are prompted, reboot your computer.
Step 5: Download and install the latest version of MBAM and uncheck the Trial option.
Step 6: After launching the program, click the Activation button.
Step 7: Copy and paste the ID & Key we retrieved from our registry in the dialog box. Then it will activate our license automatically.
Then we have installed Malwarebytes from scratch successfully. We can check if the Malwarebytes unable to connect the Service issue still exists.
Solution 3: Uninstall MBAM in Safe Mode
Try to restart our computer in Safe mode and uninstall it if we are unable to properly uninstall MBAM during normal startup. Here are the steps:
Step 1: Open the System Configuration application by typing msconfig in the search bar and navigate to the Boot tab.
Step 2: Check the Safe boot option, and it will check Minimal by default. Then clickOK and confirm to restart our computer.
Step 3: Then our computer should restart in Safe Mode. Click the Start menu and open Settings, then navigate to Apps.
Step 4: Find MBAM and click Uninstall. Thenopen msconfig again and disable the Safe boot option.
Step 5: Download the latest version of MBAM from their site to reinstall it.
Then the issue should be fixed.
Back up Important Data Now
If we only use Malwarebytes to protect your computer, that is not enough. Just imagine such a scene – once our computer was infected by the virus and it destroyed our important files, what should we do?
If we back up our files in advance, then we can recover our data when your data lose. Thus, it’s essential to back up our important data regularly. Here, we recommend using third-party free backup software – MiniTool ShadowMaker.
To learn more about the “Malwarebytes Unable to Connect the Service” issue, we can read post – Solutions to Fix Malwarebytes Unable to Connect the Service.
