Windows Service Error 1075, "The dependency service does not exist or has been marked for deletion"

Error 1075 means the service depends on another service that Windows can no longer find, usually because that dependency was uninstalled, renamed, or marked for deletion while something still pointed at it.

The fix, in order

  1. In Services, open the service and check the Dependencies tab to see which dependency is listed.
  2. Confirm the dependency is really gone by running sc query followed by the dependency name in an admin Command Prompt. If it reports that the service does not exist, the dependency entry is stale.
  3. Remove the stale dependency. In an admin Command Prompt, run sc config with the service name and depend= followed by a space and nothing after it, which clears the dependency list. If the service needs other dependencies, list them instead, separated by slashes, like depend= RpcSs/Winmgmt.
  4. Restart the PC, since a service marked for deletion only disappears fully after a reboot.
  5. Reinstall the program that provides the service. A clean install rebuilds the dependency list correctly.
  6. Check the registry only if the problem returns: under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\ and the service name, the DependOnService value lists the dependencies. Back up the key before changing anything.
The sc config command needs a space after each equals sign, like depend= , and no space before it. Without the space, the command fails with error 87.

If it still happens

If the service still reports 1075 after clearing the stale dependency, the program itself may be partly uninstalled. Remove it fully, restart, and install it again from the vendor's official installer.

Common questions

Why does a service depend on something that does not exist? Usually because the dependency was uninstalled or removed by another program, or a service was deleted while it was still listed as a dependency. The reference stays behind even though the service is gone.

Is it safe to clear a service's dependencies? Clearing the list with sc config and an empty depend= only removes the dependency references, not the service itself. Reinstalling the program afterward rebuilds the correct list.

Related errors

Windows Service Error 1068 · Windows Service Error 1060 · Print Spooler service not running

Was this helpful?