Windows could not start the Splunkd (or SplunkForwarder) service on Local Computer...cannot find file specified

[Strype]

This may have already been posted but I couldn't find it and I burnt up about 2-3 hours scratching my head...

After a service restart, if you get the following error message:
"Windows could not start the Splunkd service on Local Computer. Error 2: The system cannot find the file specified."

Answer can be found below. I hope it helps someone save some time.

[Strype · Accepted solution]

Windows key + r Type regedit HKLM > System > CurrentControlSet > services > Splunkd (or SplunkForwarder) If ImagePath has quotes in it, delete them and start the service.

[david_pinon]

This didn't work for me either and I also receive:

Error 1067: The process terminated unexpectedly.

[pparkerntx99]

The answer did not work when I tried it

[kmattern]

What do you do when DoD IA policies flag this as a possible security violation and require the quotes?