Windows 10: I can't open Windows Security or Defender and I am unable to update or verify account...

Two Major Problems: You

1. Whenever I attempt to open Windows Defender or Windows Security I am greeted with a message saying, "You'll need a new message to open this windowsdefender link"

:)

 

Windows Defender Security Center Won't Stay Open


When I open Windows Defender Security Center, it opens and then closes itself.

I’m running Windows 10 Home, v1703, with the latest updates.

I run Norton Security as my primary AV & firewall with the latest updates.

I did a system reset in the last couple of months.

I have the latest Defender updates according to: https://www.microsoft.com/security/p...tions/adl.aspx

Defender seems to be functioning, but generating the following errors:

• Event ID 3: The Windows Security Center Service was unable to establish event queries with WMI to monitor third party AntiVirus, AntiSpyware and Firewall.
• Event ID 16: Error while updating Windows Defender status to SECURITY_PRODUCT_STATE_ON.
• Event ID 1000:

Faulting application name: SecHealthUI.exe, version: 10.0.15063.0, time stamp: 0x58ccbce5
Faulting module name: SecHealthUIDataModel.dll, version: 0.0.0.0, time stamp: 0x58ccbc8d
Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset: 0x000000000015b847
Faulting process id: 0x27f0
Faulting application start time: 0x01d2f12745cc2b1f
Faulting application path: C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.SecHealthUI_cw5n1h2txyewy\SecHealthUI.exe
Faulting module path: C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.SecHealthUI_cw5n1h2txyewy\SecHealthUIDataModel.dll
Report Id: bcac3ab1-757d-47fb-8d4f-c089173b11e0
Faulting package full name: Microsoft.Windows.SecHealthUI_10.0.15063.0_neutral__cw5n1h2txyewy
Faulting package-relative application ID: SecHealthUI

I have tried options 3 and 5 in this tutorial: Turn On or Off Windows Defender Real-time Protection in Windows 10. Options 1 and 2 aren’t available to me since the settings window won’t stay open. Option 4 isn’t available for Windows Home.

As I said above, AFAICT, Defender seems to be working, but the Defender Security window won’t stay open and it’s generating a lot of errors.

Any suggestions for troubleshooting and/or fixing this issue?

 

windows defender & security center services keep turning off


Are you running any other AV or did you have one running in the past? If you didn't use an uninstaller for the AV, then the remnants of it could be causing the problem. Normally any time you install an AV it disables Defender by default.

If you are getting any error codes please list those, that will be helpful in helping you.

As torre suggested, might be a good idea to do a reset or even a reinstall.

Reset Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums

Windows 10 - Clean Install - Windows 10 Forums

There are also some suggestions listed here:

Unable to turn on Windows Defender in Windows 7 / 8 / 10

 

Windows Updates failed to instal

I'm not sure how differant XP media center Edition is but you could clear the history \ cache if these folders are there.

Step 1 Register DLL files.

=================

By trying this step, we can check if the update engines are working properly.



1. Close all instances of Internet Explorer.

2. Click Start and Run, type "Regsvr32 atl.dll" (without quotes) in the Open box and click OK.



Note: There is a space between regsvr32 and atl.dll



3. Similarly, one by one, register the files listed below:



Regsvr32 msxml3.dll

Regsvr32 wuapi.dll

Regsvr32 wuaueng.dll

Regsvr32 wuaueng1.dll

Regsvr32 wups2.dll

Regsvr32 wucltui.dll

Regsvr32 wups.dll

Regsvr32 wuweb.dll

Regsvr32 qmgr.dll

Regsvr32 qmgrprxy.dll

Regsvr32 jscript.dll



Note: If you encounter errors while registering any of these files then skip that file and continue with the next one.



If the issue persists, let's move on to the steps below to verify Windows Update services and temporary folders.



Step 2 Verify the relevant Windows Update services.

=========================================

1. Click Start->Run, type "services.msc" (without quotation marks) in the open box and click OK.

2. Double click the service "Automatic Updates".

3. Click on the Log On tab, please ensure the option "Local System account" is selected and the option "Allow service to interact with desktop" is unchecked.

4. Check if this service has been enabled on the listed Hardware Profile. If not, please click the Enable button to enable it.

5. Click on the tab "General "; make sure the "Startup Type" is "Automatic" or "Manual". Then please click the button "Stop" under "Service Status" to stop the service.

6. Then please click the button "Start" under "Service Status" to start the service.

7. Please repeat the above steps with the other services:



Background Intelligent Transfer Service

Event Log

Remote Procedure Call (RPC)



Note: Event log service is enabled on all of the hardware profiles; this service does not have an option to enable or disable on certain hardware profile.



If it still does not help, let's proceed to step 3.



Step 3 Reload the Update temporary folders.

===================================

One possible cause is that the temporary folder for Windows Update is containing corrupted files. Let's erase all the files there to get the system clean.



1. Click Start, Run, type: cmd and press Enter. Please run the following command in the opened window.



Net stop WuAuServ



2. Click Start, Run, type: %windir% and press Enter.

3. In the opened folder, rename the folder SoftwareDistribution to Sdold.

4. Click Start, Run, type: cmd and press Enter. Please run the following command in the opened window.



Net start WuAuServ



Please test the Windows Update website and let me know the result. If the issue persists, to clarify the issue and provide more accurate troubleshooting steps, please assist me in collecting the following information.