How do I restore Windows Defender?


A

Anixx

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OS
Windows 11
Several years ago I've installed the system Win 11 21 H2 from an image which had Windows Defender disabled (to fit on a 4GB flash drive). If found out that the service was working, only the UI was not available. So, I disabled the service via registry as I could not control it (it deleted costomization utilities and the like).

Since then I've in-place upgraded to 23H2 from another image, but Windows Defender did not re-appear. I tried many ways. Is there a real way to restore this app so it to work again? I think, the service is OK if its registry entry is restored. Only the UI needs re-installation.
 
Windows Build/Version
Win11 23H2

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
You can use the attached batch script to enable defender.
 

Attachments

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
    Motherboard
    Erica6
    Memory
    Micron Technology DDR4-3200 16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC671
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster U28E590
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG MZVLQ1T0HALB-000H1
Hi.

You don’t remember what you did so that you can reverse the changes?

Try this “Brink” tutorial.

www.elevenforum.com

Reset Windows Security app in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to reset the Windows Security app for your account or all users in Windows 11. Windows Security is built-in to Windows 11 and includes an antivirus program called Microsoft Defender Antivirus. Your device will be actively protected from the moment you start...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build 22631.4890
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Sin-built
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770K CPU @ 3.50GHz (4th Gen?)
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus VI Formula
    Memory
    32.0 GB of I forget and the box is in storage.
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte nVidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super OC 6GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    4 x LG 23MP75 - 2 x 24MK430H-B - 1 x Wacom Pro 22" Tablet
    Screen Resolution
    All over the place
    Hard Drives
    Too many to list.
    OS on Samsung 1TB 870 QVO SATA
    PSU
    Silverstone 1500
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 820 Full-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 Elite Class Dual Tower CPU Cooler / 6 x EziDIY 120mm / 2 x Corsair 140mm somethings / 1 x 140mm Thermaltake something / 2 x 200mm Corsair.
    Keyboard
    Corsair K95 / Logitech diNovo Edge Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech G402 / G502 / Mx Masters / MX Air Cordless
    Internet Speed
    100/40Mbps
    Browser
    All sorts
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Premium
    Other Info
    I’m on a horse.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build: 22631.4249
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    LENOVO Yoga 7i EVO OLED 14" Touchscreen i5 12 Core 16GB/512GB
    CPU
    Intel Core 12th Gen i5-1240P Processor (1.7 - 4.4GHz)
    Memory
    16GB LPDDR5 RAM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics Processor
    Sound Card
    Optimized with Dolby Atmos®
    Screen Resolution
    QHD 2880 x 1800 OLED
    Hard Drives
    M.2 512GB
    Antivirus
    Defender / Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    …still on a horse.
antspants said:
Hi.

You don’t remember what you did so that you can reverse the changes?

Try this “Brink” tutorial.

www.elevenforum.com

Reset Windows Security app in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to reset the Windows Security app for your account or all users in Windows 11. Windows Security is built-in to Windows 11 and includes an antivirus program called Microsoft Defender Antivirus. Your device will be actively protected from the moment you start...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
Click to expand...

Option 1 - does not work. the "System components" has only Store in it:
1740448523646.webp

Option 2 just ddid nothing, instantly exitted. I already tried this commandd many times over the years.

1740448634047.webp
Option 3 - the same:

1740448741530.webp

P.S. s you can see, I have already replied to that thread years ago.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
Anixx said:
Several years ago I've installed the system Win 11 21 H2 from an image which had Windows Defender disabled (to fit on a 4GB flash drive). If found out that the service was working, only the UI was not available. So, I disabled the service via registry as I could not control it (it deleted costomization utilities and the like).

Since then I've in-place upgraded to 23H2 from another image, but Windows Defender did not re-appear. I tried many ways. Is there a real way to restore this app so it to work again? I think, the service is OK if its registry entry is restored. Only the UI needs re-installation.
Click to expand...
Do you remember which script you used to disable Defender, or where the image originated? There's many methods to "disabling" Defender, and some are worse than others if you wanted to reverse them.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
Anixx said:
This script went into infinite loop of opening new cmd windows once I run it. I had to exit session to stop.
Click to expand...
Sorry works for me.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
    Motherboard
    Erica6
    Memory
    Micron Technology DDR4-3200 16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC671
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster U28E590
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG MZVLQ1T0HALB-000H1
Please try running Microsoft SecurityHealthSetup .exe


It’s been known to fix Defender issues, if that’s what this is of course. I’ve linked this to a couple of other members who were able to repair Defender.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build 22631.4890
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Sin-built
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770K CPU @ 3.50GHz (4th Gen?)
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus VI Formula
    Memory
    32.0 GB of I forget and the box is in storage.
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte nVidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super OC 6GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    4 x LG 23MP75 - 2 x 24MK430H-B - 1 x Wacom Pro 22" Tablet
    Screen Resolution
    All over the place
    Hard Drives
    Too many to list.
    OS on Samsung 1TB 870 QVO SATA
    PSU
    Silverstone 1500
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 820 Full-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 Elite Class Dual Tower CPU Cooler / 6 x EziDIY 120mm / 2 x Corsair 140mm somethings / 1 x 140mm Thermaltake something / 2 x 200mm Corsair.
    Keyboard
    Corsair K95 / Logitech diNovo Edge Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech G402 / G502 / Mx Masters / MX Air Cordless
    Internet Speed
    100/40Mbps
    Browser
    All sorts
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Premium
    Other Info
    I’m on a horse.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build: 22631.4249
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    LENOVO Yoga 7i EVO OLED 14" Touchscreen i5 12 Core 16GB/512GB
    CPU
    Intel Core 12th Gen i5-1240P Processor (1.7 - 4.4GHz)
    Memory
    16GB LPDDR5 RAM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics Processor
    Sound Card
    Optimized with Dolby Atmos®
    Screen Resolution
    QHD 2880 x 1800 OLED
    Hard Drives
    M.2 512GB
    Antivirus
    Defender / Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    …still on a horse.
Doing an in place upgrade should fix it

www.elevenforum.com

Repair Install Windows 11 with an In-place Upgrade

This tutorial will show you how to do a repair install of Windows 11 by performing an in-place upgrade without losing anything. If you need to repair or create a new recovery partition or having problems with the Windows 11 operating system on your PC, and the usual solutions will not fix it...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Ryzen 7 5700 X3D
    Motherboard
    MSI MPG B550 GAMING PLUS
    Memory
    64 GB DDR4 3600mhz Gskill Ripjaws V
    Graphics Card(s)
    RTX 4070 Super , 12GB VRAM Asus EVO Overclock
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gigabyte M27Q (rev. 2.0) 2560 x 1440 @ 170hz HDR
    Hard Drives
    2TB Samsung nvme ssd
    2TB XPG nvme ssd
    PSU
    CORSAIR RMx SHIFT Series™ RM750x 80 PLUS Gold Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
    Case
    CORSAIR 3500X ARGB Mid-Tower ATX PC Case – Black
    Cooling
    ID-COOLING FROSTFLOW X 240 CPU Water Cooler
    Internet Speed
    900mbps DOWN, 100mbps UP
  • Operating System
    Chrome OS
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Chromebook
    CPU
    Intel Pentium Quad Core
    Memory
    4GB LPDDR4
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14 Inch HD SVA anti glare micro edge display
    Hard Drives
    64 GB emmc
andrew129260 said:
Doing an in place upgrade should fix it

www.elevenforum.com

Repair Install Windows 11 with an In-place Upgrade

This tutorial will show you how to do a repair install of Windows 11 by performing an in-place upgrade without losing anything. If you need to repair or create a new recovery partition or having problems with the Windows 11 operating system on your PC, and the usual solutions will not fix it...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
Click to expand...
I already did it. From Win11 21H2 to 23H2. And several times, in-place re-install.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
Try the script now.
 

Attachments

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
    Motherboard
    Erica6
    Memory
    Micron Technology DDR4-3200 16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC671
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster U28E590
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG MZVLQ1T0HALB-000H1
antspants said:
Try this “Brink” tutorial.
Click to expand...
Not to be that guy, but Brink's tutorial doesn't address the issue. I know of (at least) 4 different strategies for "disabling Defender", and Reset-AppxPackage isn't part of the fix. Without knowing what the original script updated, it's hard to understand what the solution is without a repair install.

- Soft changes to Defender reg settings
- Soft changes to disable Defender services from running
- Hard removal of SecHealthUI app
- Hard removal of Defender platform files
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
garlin said:
Not to be that guy, but Brink's tutorial doesn't address the issue. I know of (at least) 4 different strategies for "disabling Defender", and Reset-AppxPackage isn't part of the fix. Without knowing what the original script updated, it's hard to understand what the solution is without a repair install.

- Soft changes to Defender reg settings
- Soft changes to disable Defender services from running
- Hard removal of SecHealthUI app
- Hard removal of Defender platform files
Click to expand...
The service was running when I installed the system, and interfered with my work, so I disabled it via registry. But the UI was never functioning. I need to re-install exactly the UI, because without the UI the service is uncontrollable.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
antspants said:
Please try running Microsoft SecurityHealthSetup .exe


It’s been known to fix Defender issues, if that’s what this is of course. I’ve linked this to a couple of other members who were able to repair Defender.
Click to expand...

That link may not work, I am not at my PC to download it. Is that the same file as this one?:



The Windows Security UI should work straight away. If not, restart the computer and give the system a few minutes to initialize before checking.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build 22631.4890
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Sin-built
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770K CPU @ 3.50GHz (4th Gen?)
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus VI Formula
    Memory
    32.0 GB of I forget and the box is in storage.
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte nVidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super OC 6GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    4 x LG 23MP75 - 2 x 24MK430H-B - 1 x Wacom Pro 22" Tablet
    Screen Resolution
    All over the place
    Hard Drives
    Too many to list.
    OS on Samsung 1TB 870 QVO SATA
    PSU
    Silverstone 1500
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 820 Full-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 Elite Class Dual Tower CPU Cooler / 6 x EziDIY 120mm / 2 x Corsair 140mm somethings / 1 x 140mm Thermaltake something / 2 x 200mm Corsair.
    Keyboard
    Corsair K95 / Logitech diNovo Edge Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech G402 / G502 / Mx Masters / MX Air Cordless
    Internet Speed
    100/40Mbps
    Browser
    All sorts
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Premium
    Other Info
    I’m on a horse.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build: 22631.4249
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    LENOVO Yoga 7i EVO OLED 14" Touchscreen i5 12 Core 16GB/512GB
    CPU
    Intel Core 12th Gen i5-1240P Processor (1.7 - 4.4GHz)
    Memory
    16GB LPDDR5 RAM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics Processor
    Sound Card
    Optimized with Dolby Atmos®
    Screen Resolution
    QHD 2880 x 1800 OLED
    Hard Drives
    M.2 512GB
    Antivirus
    Defender / Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    …still on a horse.
antspants said:
That link may not work, I am not at my PC to download it. Is that the same file as this one?:



The Windows Security UI should work straight away. If not, restart the computer and give the system a few minutes to initialize before checking.
Click to expand...
I started a file from your link, it does nothing:
1740450097188.webp
Just instantly exits.

The other file securityhealthsetup_e16941e14861a6d24750ecdf05c548189b33182a.exe also instantly exits.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
Anixx said:
I have it. As I understand, it contains the service, which worked until I disabled it in registry.
Click to expand...

I haven’t seen where you mentioned what in the registry you changed.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build 22631.4890
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Sin-built
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770K CPU @ 3.50GHz (4th Gen?)
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus VI Formula
    Memory
    32.0 GB of I forget and the box is in storage.
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte nVidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super OC 6GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    4 x LG 23MP75 - 2 x 24MK430H-B - 1 x Wacom Pro 22" Tablet
    Screen Resolution
    All over the place
    Hard Drives
    Too many to list.
    OS on Samsung 1TB 870 QVO SATA
    PSU
    Silverstone 1500
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 820 Full-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 Elite Class Dual Tower CPU Cooler / 6 x EziDIY 120mm / 2 x Corsair 140mm somethings / 1 x 140mm Thermaltake something / 2 x 200mm Corsair.
    Keyboard
    Corsair K95 / Logitech diNovo Edge Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech G402 / G502 / Mx Masters / MX Air Cordless
    Internet Speed
    100/40Mbps
    Browser
    All sorts
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Premium
    Other Info
    I’m on a horse.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build: 22631.4249
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    LENOVO Yoga 7i EVO OLED 14" Touchscreen i5 12 Core 16GB/512GB
    CPU
    Intel Core 12th Gen i5-1240P Processor (1.7 - 4.4GHz)
    Memory
    16GB LPDDR5 RAM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics Processor
    Sound Card
    Optimized with Dolby Atmos®
    Screen Resolution
    QHD 2880 x 1800 OLED
    Hard Drives
    M.2 512GB
    Antivirus
    Defender / Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    …still on a horse.
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