How do I fix the Windows Security app?


Anixx

Well-known member
Member
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Local time
12:16 PM
Posts
446
OS
Windows 11
The Windows Security app is not starting and its folder is missing.

I tried everything advised on the internet, including

Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.SecHealthUI | Reset-AppxPackage

sfc /scannow

and DSIM.

The first one does not report any error but also does nothing.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
@Anixx



An In-Place Upgrade "compares" what is installed on the computer, with the Windows ISO image.
Then, it overwrites any corrupted Windows files, with clean copies from the ISO image.
This is how it "repairs" Windows while allowing you to keep your programs and personal files.




Here is the short version of the In-place upgrade tutorial...

DISABLE non-Microsoft:
a) antivirus software
b) firewall software
c) drive encryption software


Make a full OS backup with a program like Macrium Reflect or AOMEI Backupper Standard
Making a backup is optional, but always a smart move.
Macrium Reflect
AOMEI Backupper Standard (free)


Get the Windows 11 ISO (Option #2), and save it to your desktop...


Right click the ISO image and choose: MOUNT
Open File Explorer and you will see a new drive letter. It will "look" like a DVD optical drive.
Double click the new drive letter to open it.
Find setup.exe and double click it to start the in-place upgrade.

Choose the Keep personal files and apps option.

After it's all done... to UNmount the ISO image, right click the new drive letter and choose: EJECT.

The ONLY thing you will lose is some of your personalizations.
Your drivers, programs and data will be intact.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦22631.3527 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 4702)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Internet Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 13 years?
Windows Update also does not work...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
Windows Update also does not work...


An In-Place Upgrade (repair install), will fix ALL Windows problems.
It won't fix 3rd party programs or driver issues. It won't fix hardware issues.

It's not an "update". All you need to be able to do is to download a Windows ISO image.


Take your time, and read the tutorial. :-)

An In-Place Upgrade takes about 40 minutes on MY computer.


Mad Scientist - blank.png Hermoine blank.png



It's pretty easy. :-)
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦22631.3527 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 4702)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Internet Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 13 years?
I just did in-place update today, and this is the result...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
I just did in-place update today, and this is the result...
An in-place upgrade, not update. Just se everyone is clear?

I tried everything advised on the internet, including

Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.SecHealthUI | Reset-AppxPackage

sfc /scannow

and DSIM.
You don’t mention doing an in-place upgrade
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build: 22631.3374
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Sin-built
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770K CPU @ 3.50GHz (4th Gen?)
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus VI Formula
    Memory
    32.0 GB of I forget and the box is in storage.
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte nVidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super OC 6GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    4 x LG 23MP75 1 x 24" LG M38H 1 x 32" LF6300 TV Monitor 1 x Wacom Pro 22" Tablet
    Screen Resolution
    All over the place
    Hard Drives
    2 x WD something Something 8TB HDD's / 2 x WD something Something 4TB HDD's / 1 x EVO 1TB SSD / 2 x QVO 1TB SSD's / 1 x EVO 250 GB SSD / 2 x QVO 1TB (External Hub) / 1 x EVO 1TB (Portable Backup Case)
    PSU
    Silverstone 1500
    Case
    NZXT Full Tower
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 Elite Class Dual Tower CPU Cooler / 6 x EziDIY 120mm / 2 x Corsair 140mm somethings / 1 x 140mm Thermaltake something / 2 x 200mm Corsair.
    Keyboard
    Corsair K95 / Logitech diNovo Edge Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech G402 / G502 / Mx Masters / MX Air Cordless
    Internet Speed
    100/40Mbps
    Browser
    All sorts
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Premium
    Other Info
    I’m on a horse.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 22621.2215
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    LENOVO Yoga 7i EVO OLED 14" Touchscreen i5 12 Core 16GB/512GB
    CPU
    Intel Core 12th Gen i5-1240P Processor (1.7 - 4.4GHz)
    Memory
    16GB LPDDR5 RAM
    Graphics card(s)
    Graphics processor is an Intel Iris Xe
    Sound Card
    optimized with Dolby Atmos®
    Screen Resolution
    QHD 2880 x 1800 OLED
    Hard Drives
    M.2 512GB
    Other Info
    …still on a horse.
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth - reports success
sfc /scannow - reports success

Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"} - does not mention Windows Security or Defender at all, reports success.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
If the Windows Security app doesn't open, is crashing, or doesn't work properly, you can reset it to try to fix the Windows Security app.

 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
    Motherboard
    Erica6
    Memory
    Micron Technology DDR4-3200 16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC671
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster U28E590
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG MZVLQ1T0HALB-000H1
Its folder does not exist physically. How can I reset it if it is not installed?

In the first post you can see, I tried
Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.SecHealthUI | Reset-AppxPackage

It gives no error, no response, silence.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
The Windows Security app is not starting and its folder is missing.

I tried everything advised on the internet, including

Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.Windows.SecHealthUI | Reset-AppxPackage

sfc /scannow

and DSIM.

The first one does not report any error but also does nothing.
What do you mean?! C:\Windows\System32 is missing?!🤔

That's the main folder where you can find the starting app: SecurityHealthSystray

2024-03-13_150603.png

Tho, sometimes Windows Updates creates new SecurityHealth folders specific to a newer build without deleting the older version/builds - so you might find it multiple folders - including WinSxS. If it's simply disabled from taskbar - you can enable it from Taskbar Settings -> Other icons. You can find the steps on this forum:

 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 SP 16 (or Windows 11 SP 2 or Sun Valley 2)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    CPU
    Intel & AMD
    Memory
    SO-DIMM SK Hynix 15.8 GB Dual-Channel DDR4-2666 (2 x 8 GB) 1329MHz (19-19-19-43)
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia RTX 2060 6GB Mobile GPU (TU106M)
    Sound Card
    Onbord Realtek ALC1220
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    1x Samsung PM981 NVMe PCIe M.2 512GB / 1x Seagate Expansion ST1000LM035 1TB

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