Issues with Windows Defender on Windows Server 2019 Datacenter

Question

I am currently using Windows Server 2019 Datacenter and encountering issues with Windows Defender. Below are the details of my situation and the steps I have attempted to resolve this issue.

1. Issue:
   • When I press the scan button in the 'Setting > Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Current threat' section of my system, nothing happens.
2. Initial Check:
   • I executed Get-Service -Name windefend using PowerShell and found that the Windows Defender Antivirus Service (windefend) is stopped, as shown below:

     
          Status   Name               DisplayName
     
          ------   ----               -----------
     
          Stopped  windefend          Windows Defender Antivirus Service
     
     

3. Attempted Solutions:
   • I tried to start the service using Start-Service -Name windefend, but received the following error message and was unable to start the service:

     
          Start-Service : Failed to start service 'Windows Defender Antivirus Service (windefend)'.
     
          At line:1 char:1
     
          + Start-Service -Name windefend
     
          + ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     
              + CategoryInfo          : OpenError: (System.ServiceProcess.ServiceController:ServiceController) [Start-Service],
     
             ServiceCommandException
     
              + FullyQualifiedErrorId : StartServiceFailed,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.StartServiceCommand
     
     

   • I also attempted to start the service directly from 'Services', but received an error message and could not initiate the service.(attached image)

I would greatly appreciate any insights into the cause of this problem and suggestions for resolution. If any additional information is required, please let me know.

Thank you for your assistance.

Answer 1

Hi,

You cannot manually start or stop the Windows Defender service。 Please check to see if there is any other antivirus running on your computer.

Best Regards,

Ian Xue

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