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Virus & Threat Protection Page not available >> Reinstall Windows?

So I've been dealing with this issue for quite a while now. It's getting Pretty frustrating, trying things to make this work to no avail.

Mainly, I've tried this:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/protect/forum/all/problems-starting-windows-defender-in-windows/808253bb-db89-4db9-a4e5-1c91a86489e9

and I'm just getting mad trying to figure this out for an entire day.


I've tried #2, deleting my active antivirus.

When I tried #4, if I ran "DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth", it froze at 100%, so when "sfc /scannow", it printed "Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them. Details are included in the CBS.Log %WinDir%\Logs\CBS\CBS.log." but after restarting and running "sfc /scannow" again, it printed "Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations." so I don't think that's the issue.

#3 and #5 I got lost throughout the process.

#6 and #7 Did nothing, also for #7, there was only MsMpEng.exe

EDIT: Forgot to mention, #6 didn't even work at all. Couldn't get 'Security Center' to restart as it was not an available option:

#8 Didn’t work either.

EDIT 2: I have tried gpedit.msc and I swear to god there was the "Administrative Templates", but now it's gone. Also, as it had "Administrative Templates", it seemed to have everything EXCEPT the "Windows Defender" option. Now I'm just confused as to how it disappeared.


I also want to note that when I tried to run Bitdefender, my CPU was running like crazy, and when the scanning “finished”, it was only at 8% when it said it was complete and I know for a fact it didn’t run through all my files, AND it took 30 minutes just to hit me with that ****. My main concern really is potentially having a virus (And as someone who doesn't know much, all I can think is that I do have a virus.)

At this point, I really just want to reinstall Windows, but I want to know what you guys think. 

I’d also like to know, in the case I should just reinstall, how/if I should backup all 175GB on my C: Drive. (I’m getting paranoid just the thought of losing all my files). I do have an INTERNAL hard drive (picture below) under the D: Drive, and I’m wondering if I could just copy all my files from the C: Drive into the D: Drive and perform a reinstallation without risking losing my files. But in the case there is a virus, should I even risk potentially transferring it?? Sorry this is long, I'm just really trying to explain everything I possibly can. Thanks for reading if you made it this far, hope to get this solved.
Hi there noAccnoSkill, I will be your Independent Advisor for today, I hope we can both resolve your problem.

Please remove Bit Defender,
Please try to run this on the Command prompt. To open command prompt type in CMD on the start menu right click and run as administrator.
Then run this command or copy and paste.

REG DELETE "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender" /v DisableAntiSpyware

Make sure to reboot after.

Good source :
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/protect/for...


https://support.microsoft.com/en-ph/help/18900/...

And also if you have any other unwanted programs installed in your computer please remove it as well.

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I have already uninstalled Bitdefender (I did all the steps in the thread in order) prior to doing all the other steps, but I forgot to mention I had already ran MalwareBytes just yesterday and uninstalled it to install Bitdefender.

I ran that command (It seems to be similar to #8 in the thread but in the console), and nothing was found:

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If the computer is severely infected might as well do a factory reset, if you are going to back up make sure to only back up essential files located in your User account Documents folder, Desktop folder, Download, Favorites. And just to be on the safer side its better to back up using an external drive.

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Yeah, I think I'm going to just perform a reset.

Do you think like a normal flash drive would be fine enough for me, or should I invest in an external hard drive? 

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I would invest to a more sturdy external hard drive.

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Alright, so I think its safe to say I have a virus/malware hidden in my old files. after having done a factory reset, I was happy with what I saw. Everything was running smoothly, until the moment I plugged in my harddrive. I instantly noticed my laptops fan going crazy, but I just assumed it was trying to read the harddrive or something. Next thing I noticed, when I right clicked my desktop, it kept doing the spinning wheel. 

My only thought was “Well, time to do another scan on my hard drive”.

Right when I tried run another full scan with Virus & Threat Protection, my CPU was going haywire like the last time I tried to run Bitdefender. I also tried to run MalwareBytes again and the same thing happens.

I didn’t even transfer anything, all I did was plug in the drive. So now, I’m really at a loss. I’m really stressed out, having tried to figure this out for an entire 2 days, and not sure what to do about this. I‘m really concerned of having infected the hard drive as it was not mine, and losing all my data. I’m more concerned about my data, as I compiled all of it into a zip file. 

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Please try to boot to Safe Mode and see if you can open your external harddrive from there.

Here is how to go to Safe Mode.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-ph/help/12376/...

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Last updated March 1, 2024 Views 667 Applies to: