Windows Defender Firewall Authorization Driver (mpsdrv) Service Defaults in Windows 11
Windows Defender Firewall Authorization Driver is a kernel mode driver that provides deep inspection services on inbound and outbound network traffic.
Default Settings
| Startup type: | Manual |
| Display name: | Windows Defender Firewall Authorization Driver |
| Service name: | mpsdrv |
| Service type: | kernel |
| Error control: | normal |
| Group: | network |
| Path: | %SystemRoot%\System32\drivers\mpsdrv.sys |
| Registry key: | HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\mpsdrv |
Default Behavior
Windows Defender Firewall Authorization Driver is a kernel driver. In Windows 11 it starts only if the user, an application or another service starts it. If Windows Defender Firewall Authorization Driver fails to start, the failure details will be recorded into Event Log. Then Windows 11 should boot up and notify the user about the mpsdrv service startup failure.
Dependencies
If Windows Defender Firewall Authorization Driver doesn't work properly, the Windows Defender Firewall service can't start.
Restore Default Startup Configuration of Windows Defender Firewall Authorization Driver
1. Run the Command Prompt as an administrator.
2. Copy the command below, paste it into the command window and press ENTER:
sc config mpsdrv start= demand
3. Close the command window and restart the computer.
The mpsdrv service is using the mpsdrv.sys file that is located in the C:\Windows\System32\drivers directory. If the file is removed or corrupted, read this article to restore its original version from Windows 11 installation media.