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Server 2016: Windows Defender cannot be uninstalled, fixed, started or replaced?
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Anonymous
Good afternoon, I am working on a server 2016 installation. For whatever reason my windows defender service has stopped operating. Trying to remove, reinstall, or fix via DISM/SFC seems to have failed and I'm near my wit's end.
So, here's what I know.
Windows update cannot update the definitions, fails with a 0x80070643 error
Removal via powershell command Uninstall-WindowsFeature -Name Windows-Defender fails with a 0x800f0831 error at 57%
Removal via "remove roles and features" fails similarly, as does command line.
Renaming the Windows Defender folder and creating a new one with a transplanted set of files from a working 2016 installation did not work (but also doesn't seem to have broken anything additional)
SFC /Scannow doesn't return anything unusual, while DISM /online /cleanup-image /restore-health hangs for a very long time at 100% and then returns a "not enough storage available to complete the operation. The server is using about 30Gb of 100Gb total (give or take) and has about 300 gb free on the C drive.
Net Start Windefend gives a
Windows Defender Service could not be started, A system error has occurred
System Error 3 has occurred.
System cannot find the path specified
I ran a command cmd /c reg query HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WinDefend |clip and got a result very similar to this, with the exception of the last line didn't exist http://pastebin.com/KAu8303P
Last 3 lines on mine said
"
LastFeaturesQuery Reg_SZ 2018/02/02/23:34:39
HKEY_Local_Machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\WinDefend\Roles
HKEY_Local_Machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\WinDefend\Security
"
echoing the program files directory returned the proper directory
I'm losing my mind here, If anyone could return my workdays to peace I would be very thankful.
Windows for home | Windows 10 | Security and privacy
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
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Anonymous
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Anonymous
2018-10-11T13:10:10+00:00 Sorry to bother you, I'll repost it over there.
Thanks for the guidance!