This is our old Q&A Site. Please post any new questions and answers at ask.wireshark.org.
2
1

I am using Windows 7 64bit edition; when i first installed Wireshark it worked, but after restart its constantly telling me NPF driver is not running error and therefore I cannot see any of my network cards. Please help

asked 07 Dec '10, 23:42

Engr Mansoor...
31124
accept rate: 0%

edited 20 Jan '11, 12:11

Jaap ♦
11.7k16101


13

I am using Wireshark on the 64-bit edition of Windows 7 without problem.

The npf driver is not visible in your regular "Computer Management" WMI-interface. The npf status is best checked with the command line.

Run a cmd.exe as administrator and run the command sc qc npf.

You should get some output like this:

C:\Windows\system32>sc qc npf
[SC] QueryServiceConfig SUCCESS

SERVICE_NAME: npf
        TYPE               : 1  KERNEL_DRIVER
        START_TYPE         : 2   AUTO_START
        ERROR_CONTROL      : 1   NORMAL
        BINARY_PATH_NAME   : system32\drivers\npf.sys
        LOAD_ORDER_GROUP   :
        TAG                : 0
        DISPLAY_NAME       : NetGroup Packet Filter Driver
        DEPENDENCIES       :
        SERVICE_START_NAME :

If your driver is not properly started, activate it with the command sc start npf

Finally, to start the service automatically, use the command sc config npf start=auto

Remember to run your cmd.exe as administrator when issuing these command.

permanent link

answered 08 Dec '10, 01:26

packethunter
2.1k71548
accept rate: 8%

Find the file called npf.sys which is located at

  • C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\

in Windows 7. Then make sure that you have installed winpcap, if you didn't install it, just go to its official site and download it for installation: http://www.winpcap.org

Next, find cmd.exe which is located at

  • C:\Windows\System32

in Windows 7, right click and "Run as administrator". When it opened, input net start npf, then the NPF driver is successfully opened. That is,the file npf.sys is opened.

At last, restart Wireshark, it will be OK now.

BTW, if you have other driver problems or want to update, backup or restore drivers, the free program DriveTheLife (official site: http://www.drivethelife.com) is a perfect one.

permanent link
This answer is marked "community wiki".

answered 23 Dec '14, 22:25

OliviaLewis
4113
accept rate: 0%

Just run the shark under administrator and it will work as well.

permanent link

answered 04 Aug '11, 00:44

projek7r
15
accept rate: 0%

Your answer
toggle preview

Follow this question

By Email:

Once you sign in you will be able to subscribe for any updates here

By RSS:

Answers

Answers and Comments

Markdown Basics

  • *italic* or _italic_
  • **bold** or __bold__
  • link:[text](http://url.com/ "title")
  • image?![alt text](/path/img.jpg "title")
  • numbered list: 1. Foo 2. Bar
  • to add a line break simply add two spaces to where you would like the new line to be.
  • basic HTML tags are also supported

Question tags:

×103
×19
×14

question asked: 07 Dec '10, 23:42

question was seen: 333,477 times

last updated: 24 Jan '17, 16:19

p​o​w​e​r​e​d by O​S​Q​A
{"cc_re__cc_re__cc_by_sa_3_0": ["out</a> <span class=\"link-separator\"> |</span> <a href=\"/faq/\" >faq</a> <span class=\"link-separator\"> |</span> <a href=\"/privacy/\" >privacy</a> <span class=\"link-separator\"> |</span> <a href=\"https://bugs.wireshark.org/\" target=\"_blank\">support</a> <span class=\"link-separator\"> |</span> <a href=\"https://bugs.wireshark.org/\" >contact</a> \n    </div>\n  <p>\n        p&#8203;o&#8203;w&#8203;e&#8203;r&#8203;e&#8203;d by &#79;&#8203;&#83;&#8203;&#81;&#8203;&#65;\n  </p>\n</div>\n <div id=\"licenseLogo\">\n  <a rel=\"license\" href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\">\n            <img src=\"/m/default/media/images/by-sa-88x31.png\" title=\"Creative Commons: Attribution - Share Alike\" alt=\"cc-by-sa\" width=\"88\" height=\"31\" />\n  </a>\n </div>\n\n\n            </div>\n        \n        \n\n        \n            <script type=\"text/javascript\">\n                var _gaq = _gaq || [];\n                _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-605389-6']);\n                _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);\n\n                (function() {\n                    var ga = document.createElement('script"]}