Windows Security is the benchmark for protect our Windows 11 computer from malware attacks and computer pirates. Unfortunately, even this important app can throw a tantrum and stop working: in most cases It’s just a graphical issue (the interface does not start, even if the protections are active) while in the worst case it is the entire security system to be blocked (new threats are not detected).
Whatever the problem in the following guide we will show you How to fix Windows Security issues. The guide is intended to be applied on Windows 11 but most of the commands and hints are compatible on as well Windows 10.
READ ALSO -> Come si usa l’antivirus Microsoft Defender in Windows 10 e 11
1) Reset Windows Security from Settings
By acting directly from the Windows settings we can restore the correct functioning of Windows Security, without having to use methods that are too difficult to apply.
To proceed, press WIN + I on the keyboard to immediately open the settings, let’s go to the menu Appclick on Apps installedwe use the search engine above to search Windows Securityclick on the three dots next to the app name, press on Advanced options and, in the new screen, press on Restore to restore the correct functioning of the app.
If the use of the key Restore it is not enough to solve problems with Windows Security we can use the key Resetwhich will take care of completely deleting and reinstalling any app or process related to Windows Security.
At the end of the restore, we advise you to restart the PC for the changes to take effect.
2) Reset Windows Security as a Service
If we got our hands on the windows system services it is possible that the service that manages Windows Security has been deactivated by mistake, preventing it from starting correctly.
To correct this problem immediately, all we have to do is press WIN+R on the keyboard, type services.msc and, once you get to the Windows services screen, check that the service PC Security Center both running and autostarting.
If not, right click on it and press on Restart to restart it; since it is a system process, the changes are limited, so if we still notice problems with Windows Security we will have to try one of the solutions present in the following chapters.
3) Reset Windows Security with PowerShell
Windows PowerShell is the new terminal in Windows capable of restoring any element of the system, without having to initiate master recovery.
If the problem with Windows Security has not been resolved from the Settings we can try a more advanced method by right-clicking on the Start menu, clicking on Terminal (Admin) and typing the following command:
Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.SecHealthUI -AllUsers | Reset-AppxPackage
After typing the command, press Enter or Enter on the keyboard and wait for the end of the recovery process. For the changes to take effect, log off the user or restart the system.
4) Reset Windows Security with Prompt
Even the good old Command Prompt lends itself very well to recovering Windows Security that does not open or does not respond. To follow this procedure we open the Start menu, type cmd on the keyboard, right click on Command Promptpress Run as administrator and, as soon as the prompt window opens, type the following command:
PowerShell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Command "& {$manifest = (Get-AppxPackage *Microsoft.Windows.SecHealthUI*).InstallLocation + '\AppxManifest.xml' ; Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $manifest}"
In fact, this command replicates the one already seen in PowerShell, but those who are fond of using the prompt will find it more practical to use this instead of the new terminal.
5) Reset Windows Security with SFC and DISM
If none of the suggestions above have worked to reset Windows Security, most likely your malware protection is also disabled or not working as it should.
To completely reset Windows Security we can use the SFC and DISM commandsboth of which are designed to fix errors within system files by swapping damaged files for new ones.
To use SFC all we have to do is open the command prompt with administrator permissions (as already seen in the previous chapter) and type the following command:
sfc /scannow
We let it scan the entire disk, so that we can properly restore any damaged files. If SFC doesn’t solve anything we can switch to DISMusing the following commands (to be launched one at a time):
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
For more information, read our guide toDISM interface to clean and repair Windows.
6) Uninstall external security software
By installing a alternative antivirus to Microsoft Defender we will immediately notice that Windows Security will run in reduced mode, limiting itself to monitoring the functions not related to the anti-malware scan.
The presence of a third-party antivirus could cause problems with opening Windows Security: to solve the problems of the latter we can try to uninstall the external antivirus used so far and try one of the procedures seen above to get Windows Security back in perfect working order.
If we don’t know which antivirus to use on a Windows PC, we suggest you read our guide to best free antivirus for pc.
Conclusions
Windows Security is a very important screen for manage every aspect of security on the Microsoft operating system– In addition to antivirus checks, information about account protection, network protection, installed apps and browsers, and other built-in security features is provided.
If the Windows Security screen is blank, with no items or no menus, we follow the steps listed above to restore the correct display; if, on the other hand, the antimalware protection does not work, we restore the system files using SFC and DISM or uninstall any third-party antivirus installed.
Still on the subject of security, we can read our guides to Windows 10 and 11 Security Settings and garlic Microsoft tools for Windows PC security.