Cannot open Windows Security

Discussion in 'other anti-virus software' started by ams963, Feb 23, 2022.

  1. ams963

    ams963 Registered Member

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    I am on Win 11. Clicking on Windows Security from all apps in the start menu does nothing. Opening it from Settings says I need to find an app from MS store to open and after clicking on that it says no app found.
     
  2. Brummelchen

    Brummelchen Registered Member

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    start boot menu and do a repair. win11 is still very buggy.
     
  3. xxJackxx

    xxJackxx Registered Member

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  4. Bunkhouse Buck

    Bunkhouse Buck Registered Member

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    You need to insert a command in PowerShell. I did that on two computers and it worked. Command can be found below:.

    Launch PowerShell with admin rights and run the following command: Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.SecHealthUI -AllUsers | Reset-AppxPackage. Then close the PowerShell window and check the results.
     
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2022
  5. ams963

    ams963 Registered Member

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    The powershell command fixed the problem. Thank you both very much. I almost hit Go Back to Win 10 in the recovery settings last night. But thank God I had the good sense of asking for help here.

    I know it is unrelated to Windows Security and might be off topic but I am having similar issues with some other apps namely Microsoft To Do and Xbox. Right Clicking on them in the app list and choosing uninstall does nothing. And cannot open them either. They are just sitting there in the app list. What do I do? Leave them as they are?
     
  6. moredhelfinland

    moredhelfinland Registered Member

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    Do not use crap Windows Defender, because most malwares wants to disable it.
    Use dedicated AV like F-Secure and 3rd party firewall that does not rely on crap windows firewall.
    Especially a firewall that can handle outgoing network access made by children process.
     
  7. zapjb

    zapjb Registered Member

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    Agreed 100%.
     
  8. Bunkhouse Buck

    Bunkhouse Buck Registered Member

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    If you don't mind the fact that F-Secure has not performed well in several tests that I have seen...
     
  9. xxJackxx

    xxJackxx Registered Member

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    Some Microsoft apps cannot be uninstalled, at least through the menus.
    You can take a look at this:
    https://qwertyarticles.com/2018/04/08/using-powershell-to-uninstall-and-reinstall-windows-10-apps/
    In a desperate situation you can create a new user profile but I wouldn't go that far unless absolutely necessary.
    You can look at this as well but in all honesty it usually does not work for me. Sometimes it does, but usually not.
    https://www.digitalcitizen.life/how-reinstall-all-windows-10-default-apps-powershell/
    Ultimately this all stinks of being a corrupt user profile.
     
  10. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    I remember I had a similar problem on Win 10, but it started after downloading some update. That's why I keep saying that Windows Update is a bigger threat to Windows than malware LOL. But anyway, I tried to fix it by using Powershell but it didn't end well so I ended up needing to reinstall Windows via PC reset. After that I downloaded another update (bad idea) and that somehow broke part of the Windows taskbar, certain system tray-icons (volume, network, clock) won't launch. But I decided to keep it this way, it's not worth my time.
     
  11. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    I wouldn't say that WD is crap, but I guess it's true that most malware will try to bypass it, especially now that it's probably the most used AV on the market. But don't forget that malware will often try to disable third party AV's too.
     
  12. plat

    plat Registered Member

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    Yup. Even NVT OSArmor has a self-defense function in its settings. Can't take anything for granted nowadays.
     
  13. xxJackxx

    xxJackxx Registered Member

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    Despite that I am not a Defender defender :p this is likely Windows corruption and not a Defender fail. As there are other apps having issues I expect there may have been an improper shutdown or similar that corrupted the system. It probably needs a repair of the apps, a new user profile, or a reset of Windows.
     
  14. Brummelchen

    Brummelchen Registered Member

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    lol ymmd. defender cant be killed with a standard user account. too bad, you are using admin rights? not your lucky day today.

    btw defender is no app. removing certain apps which are not used is ok, but brute force removal is seriously wrong and will kill your windows. on my second machine with pro i exchanged the start menu with some classical one and i dont see apps, i need to switch to that view. people should not focus on what they can remove, more what they can change or remove (removing app symbols from the start menu is possible ;))

    the problem for apps - real apps, not programs in general because MS will tell us this way - are releated to some antivirus and firewall, and ofc a ms account is needed. if one is disabled, apps wont show up. but this only happens be purpose (win10), or by bug (win10+11)
     
  15. ams963

    ams963 Registered Member

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    Sadly the solutions did not work. I did manage to remove Xbox console app by following individual removal in the second article. So thank you.
    Yeah I am tired and will not take any risks. I will leave them as they are. Interestingly, the Microsoft News, To Do and Xbox are not listed in the apps and features settings but only on the start menu app list. Maybe they are remnants or shortcuts. My main problem has been solved anyways, Windows Security is working again, so yay!
     
  16. xxJackxx

    xxJackxx Registered Member

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    One last thought... you could try O&O App Buster and see if it does anything to help. It's free and portable, couldn't hurt.
    https://www.oo-software.com/en/ooappbuster
     
  17. ams963

    ams963 Registered Member

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    It is showing the apps as available and not installed. I suspect they were uninstalled in the first place but the shortcuts in the start menu home and app list remain. I can live with that. Thank you very much. I was able to confirm that apps are not installed. I can have a peace of mind now.
     
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