6 Solutions: System Event Notification Service [Error]

Several users report seeing the Windows Could Not Connect to the System Event Notification Service error when trying to log-in into their Windows machines. The issue is mostly reported to occur on Windows Vista and Windows 7.

What is causing the Windows Could Not Connect to the System Event Notification Service error?

We investigated this particular issue by looking at various user reports. Based on what they reported and based on the methods that they used to get the issue resolved, there are several potential culprits that might trigger this particular error message:

If you’re struggling to resolve this particular issue, this article will provide you with a collection of verified troubleshooting guides. Below you have a collection of methods that other users in a similar situation have used to get the issue resolved.

For the best results, follow the methods below in order until you encounter a fix that resolves the problem for your particular scenario.

Method 1: Restarting the Windows Font Cache Service

Several users have managed to resolve the issue by restarting the Windows Font Cache Service. Users speculate that this service works closely together with the SENS service, it ends up causing general system instability whenever it crashes or remains in a limbo state. The SENS service can also be affected.

If that’s the case,  you can typically resolve the issue by restarting the Windows Font Cache Service. Here’s a quick guide on how to do this:

1. Press Windows key + R to open up a Run dialog box. Then, type “services.msc” and press Enter to open up the Services screen.

   

2. Inside the services screen, scroll down through the Local list of services and locate Windows Font Cache service. Once you see it, double-click on it to expand the menu options.

   

3. In the Windows Font Cache Service Properties, go to the General tab. If the Service status is set to Running, press the Stop button and wait a couple of seconds.
4. Press the Start button to re-enable the service and wait until the procedure is complete.
5. Attempt to use the SENS service again and see if it’s reachable.

If you’re still encountering the windows could not connect to the system event notification service error, move down to the next method below.

Method 2: Resolving the issue via an elevated Command prompt

If the issue is occurring due to a bad Windows update or because of an improper shutdown of the computer, chances are you’re experiencing this behavior because two registry key was changed, triggering the issue.

Several users struggling to resolve the same issue have managed to get this fixed by changing a couple of registry keys to their default values. We’re going to feature a batch file that can do this changes automatically when if you run it from an elevated Command prompt.

Note: This method is only confirmed to work for Windows 7.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Press Windows key + R to open up a Run dialog box. Then, type “cmd” and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open an elevated Command Prompt. When prompted by the UAC (User Account Control), click Yes to grant administrative privileges.

   

2. Paste the following command in the elevated Command Prompt  and press Enter to change the registy keys to their default values:

   REG ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows" /v LoadAppInit_DLLs /t REG_DWORD /d 00000000 /f
   REG ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows" /v LoadAppInit_DLLs /t REG_DWORD /d 00000000 /f

3. When the operation has been successful, Restart your machine and see if the issue has been resolved.

If you’re still encountering the same error message, move down to the next method below.

Method 3: Enabling the DHCP service and set it to Automatic

Several users have reported that the issue was resolved indefinitely after they discovered that the DHCP Client service was stopped and the startup type was set to Manual.

Here’s a quick guide on making sure that the DHCP service is enabled:

1. Press Windows key + R to open up a Run dialog box. Then, type “services.msc” and press Enter to open up the Services screen.

   

2. In the Services screen, look through the list of services and double-click on the DHCP Client.

   

3. In the properties screen of DHCP, go to the General tab and make sure that the Service status is set to Running. If it isn’t, click the Start button to start it.  Then, make sure that the Startup type is set to Automatic before clicking Apply.

   

4. Restart your machine and see if the issue has been resolved.

If you’re still encountering the Windows Could Not Connect to the System Event Notification Service error, move down to the next method below.

Method 4: Upgrade Symantec Endpoint Protection to the latest version (if applicable)

If you’re using Symantec Endpoint Protection, you might want to update the client to the latest version. Several users encountering this problem who were using Symantec Endpoint Protection reported that the issue was resolved after they upgraded to the latest build or after they reinstalled the client.

If this scenario is applicable to your situation, see whether uninstalling Symantec Endpoint Protection makes the error message go away. If it does, try installing the latest version or reinstall the latest build and see if the issue is fixed.

Method 5: Resetting your Network Settings

It’s possible that your Network Settings are conflicted and need to be reset. To reset your Network Configuration follow the steps below:

1. Click on the search bar and search for Command Prompt.
2. Right-click on it and click “Run as administrator”.
3. Type the following commands one-by-one:-

   ipconfig /flushdns
   ipconfig /release
   ipconfig /renew
   netsh winsock reset
   netsh int ip reset

4. Restart your computer and check to see if the issue persists.

Method 6: Fixing the System Event Notification Service

If none of the methods shown above have helped you at all, it’s possible that your service is disabled by a third-party program or a bad optimization tool. In that case, follow these steps below:-

1. Run Command Prompt as an administrator.
2. Type the following commands one-by-one:-

   sc config SENS start= auto
   sc start SENS

3. Restart your computer and check to see if the issue persists.