Windows Defender is a default security program to fight against threats like Virus, Spyware, Malware, Trojan and many more on Windows. Due to some unknown reasons, the Windows Defender may fail to start with the Window sometimes. Technically, there are some reasons behind the issue and in this article, we will discuss how to fix Windows Defender Won’t Start in Windows 10.
1. Update Windows 10
Usually, a technical glitch will occur if the software is outdated. Keeping up your device update will solve all kinds of errors on a computer. Microsoft regularly pushes the latest updates to the compatible models. If you are facing Windows Defender won’t start error in Windows, try to update your computer with the latest version. Unlike the previous versions of the OS, Windows 10 notifies users as soon as an update is available. If it does not notify you, then follow the below steps.
Steps to Update Windows 10
- Click on the Start button.
- Go to Settings (the gear icon).
- Navigate to Update & Security.
- Then to Windows Update.
These are the steps to follow for updating Windows on your computer. After downloading and installing the update, check the issue is fixed or not. If the issue is not fixed, then proceed to the next step.
2. Disable third-party Antivirus
This is one of the main reason for Windows defender won’t start error in Windows. If you are using a third-party Antivirus then it has the chance to interfering with the Windows Defender to load and startup and conflicts with the performance.
If you want to solve the issue, disable or uninstall the third-party antivirus you are using on your machine. Do a clean uninstall of the Antivirus to remove the unwanted leftovers which may conflict with Windows Defender.
There are plenty of uninstaller software’s available to perform a clean uninstall of the unwanted applications on Windows 10. You can refer our guide best uninstaller software’s for Windows for more details about the programs.
3. Run SFC Scan
SFS Scan is a built-in command-line tool for Windows which fixes the broken and corrupt files on your PC. SFS stands for system file checker, you can launch this recovery option from the command prompt. Just click Windows + R key on your keyboard and type cmd to launch the command prompt. Here type sfc /scannow command to launch system file checker.
Here are the detailed steps to check.
- Open Command Prompt on your PC with admin rights by pressing Win+S, then in the Search Bar type cmd.
- Now right-click on the Cmd search result and click on the Run as administrator option.
- Now, type the following command there and press the Enter key.
sfc /scannow - Now it will scan for the error and takes some time to fix the issues. After the scan finishes, do a system restart to apply the fixes.
4. Check the Windows Defender Services
There are some supporting services run in the background to run the Windows Defender. So, you need to verify the checklist of services in the background running or not.
- Press the Win + R to open the run box and type services.msc to open the Services utility.
- Look for the below services in a list of services and make sure they are running.
Security Center
Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection
Windows Defender Firewall
Windows Defender Antivirus Network Inspection Service
Windows Defender Antivirus Service - Check each service status running or not. If any of these services is not running, select the service and press the Start button.
- In the next step, restart the services already running. To restart, right-click on the service and select the Restart option and check if the Defender would start.
- In this step, you have to enable the Automatic start with the Windows if it is disabled. Double click on each of these services to open their Properties window and now in the Properties window make sure the Startup type is selected as Automatic.
5. Clean Registry
If the registry is filled with more and more information about unwanted and uninstalled software data, it will potentially decrease the overall performance of your system and sometimes these files conflicts with the programs and create problem in the startup.
Clean the Registry with programs like CCleaner will help you to remove unwanted files, uninstalled program traces from your computer. CCleaner is a very popular name among the PC cleaning software and it is a robust registry cleaner as well. The program is very clear to use and it will send instruction while you cleaning the registry. The registry is sensitive and it will get damaged if you delete the wrong entry. The program prompts you to take a complete backup of the registry before going clean database.
6. Change Microsoft Directory Permissions
If the correct permissions are not assigned to the Windows Defender services, you have to manually assign them. Here is how it works.
- Open File Explorer and navigate to the following path.
This PC > Local Disk (C:) > ProgramData - Now, locate the Microsoft folder, right-click on it and select the Properties option.
- In the Properties window, go to the Security tab and click on the Advanced option.
- Here, look for the Permission entries that are inherited. If any permission that was inherited, click on the Change permissions option and remove the permission entry.
- After this step, exit the File Explorer and restart your PC to apply the changes.
7. Create a New user Account
This is another fix for the Windows Defender Won’t Start In Windows 10 error. Creating a new user account will set up a new set of default settings for the user. After creating the new account, log off from your active or existing user profile, and log in using the new profile. Now check the Windows Defender is working or not using the new profile.
8. Perform a safe boot
It is one of the finest solutions to ditch temporary technical errors on Windows. It is a pretty simple process to do a safe boot to get rid of unwanted errors. After a safe boot, Windows Defender started working in most of the computers.
Conclusion
These are the best possible methods to fix the Windows Defender Won’t Start In Windows 10. Let us know which method is worked for you in the comment section below.