Windows 10: Win7 Windows Defender is turned off yet msmpeng.exe keeps on running. ???

I'd like to try life without msmpeng.exe running. As it has never ever found anything I question its purpose. Can Win7 be run without msmpeng.exe? If not why do they allow Windows Defender to be turned off when it obviously isn't being turned off?

:)

 

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

 

Programs Slow To Open Due To Windows Defender (MsMpEng)


This is something that I've noticed since Windows 8, but Windows Defender make some programs so slow to open. It's pretty noticeable on the programs that it does it on as it takes approx. 20-30 seconds to open them, even from an SSD, and if you look at Resource Monitor listed by CPU usage, you can see it's due to MsMpEng.exe running a scan before the program will open.

It would be understandable if it was doing it the first time the program had ever ran, or if the program wasn't signed, but that's not always the case. Canon DPP for example isn't signed, so presumably that's why Defender keeps scanning that, however here's an example of another program (SyncBackFree) that is signed, but yet Windows Defender still wants to keep scanning it on a daily basis despite nothing changing since previous scans.





Obviously I can add individual programs to the Windows Defender Exclusion list and exclude them from real-time protection, but what it is that Defender doesn't like with certain programs that is feels the need to keep scanning them daily? Is this a Microsoft problem, or is it down to the software not adhering to some sort of best practice policies Microsoft have laid out? There must me something that makes Defender treat it as potentially signed malware?

 

WINDOWS DEFENDER is turned off

Hi Ahmed,

Since you're not able to turn on Windows Defender as well, we'd like to know if you have made any changes recently prior to this issue. In the meantime, you may follow the steps below on how to turn on Windows Defender manually:

• Type Windows Defender in the Search bar and press
  Enter.
  
• Go to Settings and make sure that the Turn on real-time protection recommended option is turned on.
  

Same thing with the other members who are having the same issue, we suggest that you check if the service was setup to
Automatic in the Services option. Please follow the steps that we've provided last
September 3, 2017.

Let us know how if you were able to turn it on properly by changing the Startup type to Automatic.