Themes Service Error 1075 The dependency service does not exist

When you start the Themes service on your Windows computer, error 1075 may occur. Here is the full error message verbatim.

Windows could not start the Themes service on Local Computer.

Error 1075: The dependency service does not exist or has been marked
for deletion.

This issue has been reported by several users, primarily occurring in systems running Windows 7. And it appears like the problem is caused by an adware which registers a service named iThemes5 (powered by “iThemes.dll”), and adds itself as the dependency for the “Themes” service.

First, make sure you eliminate all the adware, PUA, and malware from the system. Use reputed anti-malware products like Malwarebytes AntiMalware, Adwcleaner, etc. and do a thorough checkup using your anti-virus software.

Then to fix the Themes service, use these steps.

Fix Themes Service Error 1075

Open an elevated or Admin Command Prompt window, and type:

sc config themes depend= ""

Press {ENTER}.

Note: You should see the message [SC] ChangeServiceConfig SUCCESS. On the other hand, if you receive the following error, then it probably means you’re running it from a normal Command Prompt. You need to run it from an elevated or administrator Command Prompt. See how to open an elevated or admin Command Prompt.

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[SC] OpenService FAILED 5:

Access is denied.

To confirm if dependencies for “Themes” are removed, run this command:

sc qc themes

The dependencies field should be empty, as shown above.

Then, start the Themes service by typing this:

net start themes

That fixes the Themes service. The instructions apply to all versions of Windows, including Windows 10.