windows vista home - firewall not working

firewal says it is not runnung. won't switch on

also security center not working

 

Have you done a malware scan. It could be spyware that's blocking the firewall and security center.

 

If I had to make an educated guess, it is not malware, but some third party Internet Security software you have installed, causing it.

 

Thankyou for the reply. Only extra security software is 'Malwarebytes anti-malware' free version and 'superantispyware free version and ccleaner.
Extra info - Security center is not listed in 'Services' as a number of solutions prompted me to go through this and try something but was unable because not there!
What do you suggest I do ?

Thanks in advance

 

Repair install of Vista.