How do I re-enable Windows Defender Anti-virus

Question

I received this computer 2nd hand from a family member and it appears to have defender disabled. I downloaded Kaspersky until I can fix the problem but it seems that since I upgraded to Windows 10, my hard drive runs at 100% capacity for about 8 minutes at start up (the laptop started fairly quickly prior). I am trying to trouble shoot that problem as well and i think that it could be that antivirus software that is causing it since its on the top of the list when I open task manager.

When I go through services to re-enable defender antivirus I get this error. Please help.

Answer 1

I followed the instructions on preforming a clean boot. Nothing seemed to change when the computer re-booted so I followed the instructions to boot normally. I noticed that when I was supposed to re-enable the services (after hiding all MS services) that they were already enabled. I decided to try a 2nd clean boot to make sure that I didn't miss a step. I followed instructions again (making sure to hit apply and verifying that everything was done correctly). Nothing changed so I followed instructions for normal boot. I noticed again that I did not have to re-enable the services on the service tab but had to re-enable the startup items.

Answer 2

Hello!

I'm your Independent Advisor for today. Let's figure this out and come up with a solution.

Windows Security will be automatically disabled once you install a third-party antivirus software to avoid software conflict (i.e. Each antivirus detecting the other as a virus and preventing the computer from running properly. You need to choose between Windows Security or Kaspersky. Removing Kaspersky will allow you to enable Windows Security.

If the computer is sluggish, you can start the PC in a clean boot state to check if there are other background apps which might be causing the issue:

1. Right-click the Windows button > Select Run
2. Type in "msconfig" without the quotes, then click OK.
3. On the General tab, select Selective Startup. Then untick "Load startup items".
4. On the Services tab, click "Hide all Microsoft services".
5. Click "Disable all".
6. On the Startup tab, click "Open Task Manager". A Task Manager window should open.
7. Disable all startup items. You can also choose which startup items to disable, as certain devices and apps might not work properly if the startup item related to it is disabled. Some antivirus apps can't be disabled at startup through Task Manager.
8. Go back to your System Configuration window.
9. Click Apply > OK
10. Click "Restart" when prompted.

Once the PC goes back up, check if it will resolve the issue. If so, kindly follow the steps under "How to determine what is causing the problem after you do a clean boot" in the link below to either disable or completely remove the faulty app/s:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/929135...

Please reply whatever the results.

Answer 3

Yes, it is.

Answer 4

I see. Is the computer still sluggish after booting it normally.