Windows Defender was introduced by one of the most well-known technological company, Microsoft many years ago as an anti-spyware protector that has the built-in system. It is accessible from Windows XP to Windows 7. For the users of Windows 8 and 10, this software has been made to secure your system from the virus also. But sometimes we find windows defender won’t turn on Error.
The problem starts when Microsoft’s protection software isn’t able to work properly while downloading and running dedicated anti-virus software, like Norton or McAfee. The time you try to download some other anti-virus program, you would be able to see a message that tells you that you supposed to ‘disable’ Windows Defender in case you want to save yourself from issues between two programs. By continuing with this Defender will not re-enable the time any trial you’ve taken up or subscription with another service has terminated.
Why Utilization of Windows Defender is Significant
There is a problem with most free of cost version of the software has that they don’t have latest features accessible in paid ones, but Windows Defender has very supportive devices like cloud-based protection, real-time analysis tools, and to delete malware. It also excludes the ads you would probably expect from freeware.
The best thing about Windows Defender is that there are no consistent irritating messages or notifications for the upgrade.
Users aren’t supposed to download or install anything except significant updates that can be managed via Windows Update. Windows Defender is built into the Windows OS and the time you turn it on Windows 10 will grant you complete access towards the antivirus platform.
Windows Defender is not the latest software for the sake of safety requirements, apart from the fact that it is out of cost and supportive in nature. Like implementing antivirus in a whole organization, or in case you have some private data present in your system.
Does Windows Defender is Running
Here the first step users should go for is to see if Windows Defender is on or off. Users can confirm it by taking a look at the notifications area along the Taskbar. The icon resembles a castle wall. It is a possibility that it can be in the hidden items, so in that case, just tap the upwards arrow and take a look inside. In case the icon pops up and there is not a cross (X) beside it then it means to say that Defender is running, and you aren’t supposed to go for any other steps.
There are many users who have complained that Windows Defender won’t turn on their PC, and this is a big issue.
Following are some of the main reasons of Windows Defender Won’t Turn On:
- Unable to turn on Windows Defender Windows 8: This problem pops up in Windows 8, but users can solve it by utilizing one of our methods.
- Windows Defender unable to open: There are many users who have complained that Windows Defender is unable to open on their PC. In case that’s the issue, just erase all third-party antivirus devices from your PC. Just confirm that you have erased all files and registry entries that are interlinked with your antivirus.
- Windows Defender is turned off by group policy: At times Windows Defender Won’t Turn On because it’s disabled from Group Policy. No need to be worried about it because users can resolve that with one of our mentioned procedures below.
- Windows Defender is unable to turn on the unexpected problem: Sometimes users get an error message while trying to initiate Windows Defender. In case something like that happens just go for an SFC and DISM scan and check if it sorts out this error.
- Windows Defender won’t turn on after deleting Avast, Bitdefender, McAfee, and AVG: It also happens that Windows Defender is unable to initiate the time you remove the antivirus. Users can resolve that issue just make sure to utilize the dedicated removal device to delete all leftover files and registry entries that are interlinked with your antivirus.
- Windows Defender Won’t Turn On at Windows 10 Spybot: Windows 10 users have complained about this problem with the Spybot app. You can solve it just make sure to erase Spybot completely from your PC and see in case that resolves the issue.
- Windows Defender is unable to open, run, respond, enable, and initiate: Windows Defender Won’t Turn On because of many reasons and users can solve it by trying mentioned procedures in this article.
Following are some methods through which users can solve windows defender won’t run on Error:
1. Utilizing Antivirus Certain Removal Tools
The time users remove third-party antivirus methods while utilizing the Uninstall option via Control Panel, there’s a huge possibility that there are some files left unfound and it stops you from running Windows Defender.
Users can also utilize uninstaller software to delete antivirus from their system. In case you don’t know anything about it then uninstaller software is a special app that is used for the sake of optimized removing programs. This uninstaller will delete the chosen app but it will also erase all files and registry entries that are interlinked with that app. As a result, the chosen app will be erased and it will be as in case the app was not downloaded.
2. Checking System Files
The System File Checker device manages corruption present in system files. Users can utilize this device to verify if Windows Defender is problematic or not. You can perform an SFC scan by following below steps:
- As the first step tap Windows Key + X to open Win + X menu. Then choose Command Prompt (Admin) or PowerShell (Admin) from the menu.
- Write the instruction sfc /scannow > and tap ENTER > wait for the scan to end.
In case users are unable to run the SFC scan or if SFC can’t resolve the error, they can try utilizing the DISM scan. You can do it by following below steps:
- As the first step initiate Command Prompt as administrator.
- Then when Command Prompt opens, just enter DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth and tap Enter to run the instruction.
- You will see that the DISM scan will start now. This scan will take 20 minutes or more, so there is no need to interrupt it.
The time you see that the process of scan is completed just see if the issue is solved or not. In case you were unable to run the SFC scan or if the DISM scan doesn’t resolve your error then repeat the SFC scan again and check if that ends the problem.
3. Clean Boot your System
At times third-party apps interfere with Windows and become the reason of this issue. Users can find the app that is causing errors by going for a clean boot. Users can do it by following below steps:
As the first step tap Windows Key + R and enter msconfig. Then click Enter or press OK
- Now you will see that the system Configuration window will pop up. Then go to the Services tab and see Hide all Microsoft services. Tap the Disable All button.
- After the completion of the above steps navigate to the Startup tab and press Open Task Manager.
- Here you’ll see a list of startup apps. Now just Right-click the first entry on the list and pick Disable. Repeat this step for all startup apps.
- The time you disable all startup apps, go back to the System Configuration window and tap Apply and OK. Then pick to restart your PC.
When you see that your PC has restarted see in case the issue is still there or not. It means that one of the disabled applications or services was the reason for the issue. Users can find the problematic application or service by enabling them one after another or in groups till you recreate the error. At the end just disable or install that app again and the error will be solved.
4. Restarting the Security Center Service
If you want Windows Defender to work normally you need to have particular services enabled. In case those services aren’t working the usual way they want before, Windows Defender won’t be able to turn on in any condition. Users can always initiate important services by going through the following instructions:
As the first step tap the Windows key + R > launch Run. Type services.msc > tap Enter or press OK.
- Now search for Security Center in Services and right-click on Security Center > tap on Restart.
In the end, just restart the services that are needed and see in case the issue with Windows Defender is solved.
5. Changing Group Policy
It also happens Windows Defender won’t turn on because it is disabled by your group policy. It is an issue that can be solved by altering group policy. Just go for the following steps:
- As the first step tap Windows Key + R and enter gpedit.msc. Then click Enter or tap OK.
- The time Group Policy Editor initiates in the left pane navigate to Computer
Configuration > Administrative Template > Windows Components > Windows Defender Antivirus. Then in the right pane, double-click Turn off Windows Defender Antivirus. - Now choose Not Configured and press on Apply and OK to save changes.
After you have done with these changes, Windows Defender should be enabled. Then it will run without any issues on your system.
6. Modifying Registry
In case Windows Defender won’t turn on, the issue might probably be interlinked to your registry. Users can simply modify their registry and solve this error by going through the below steps:
- As the first step tap Windows Key + R and enter regedit. Now press Enter or click OK.
- The time you see Registry Editor open just navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender in the left pane. Then in the right pane, look for DisableAntiSpyware DWORD and double-click it. In case the DWORD isn’t accessible, right-click the right pane and pick New > DWORD (32-bit) Value from the menu.
- After the completion of the above steps set the Value data to 0 and tap OK to save changes.
- Now you will see that Windows Defender will be enabled on your PC. It will start responding without any errors.
In case you’re the latest user and like utilizing the command line. You can do this from Command Prompt or PowerShell by doing the below steps:
- Here start Command Prompt as administrator.
- Then enter REG ADD “HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender” /v DisableAntiSpyware /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f command and click Enter to run it.
Now the chosen DWORD will be altered to 0 and the error should be solved. There are some users who recommend removing DisableAntiSpyware DWORD, so you can probably try this also.
Windows Defender Won’t Turn On issue is often faced by users and can be solved by following one of the mentioned methods above.
