Virus and Threat Protection Missing (Windows 11)

I posted this in the wrong forum (Windows 10) here and was advised to post for help here in the correct forum since I am on Windows 11. This is my last attempt to fix my issue before I format my SSD and clean install Windows so I am hoping that can be avoided.

The Virus and Threat Protection part of Windows Security is not showing and I have tried various registry edits and commands to try and get this back and nothing has worked. Windows security menu shows this:



When I click "Virus and threat protection" it shows this:



I am the administrator and the sole user of my computer. Here is a screenshot of my Local Group Policy:



I've ran sfc /scannow. I've also ran the Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth commands.

In Registry at "Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender Security Center\Virus and threat protection" this folder (Virus and threat protection) did not exist but I made a DWORD32 called "UILockdown" and set it to 0.

Here is the Powershell command "Get-MpComputerStatus" which says antivirus is active?



I don't have any 3rd party antivirus applications installed. I've also a virus scan via some Microsoft scanner (MSERT.exe) and it didn't find any issues.

I ran the Windows 11 Installation assistant. It reached 80% fairly quickly but the last 19% took many hours it then got stuck at 99% despite me leaving it on for over 5 hours it never progressed. I then Googled and some say it's best to install it from the $GetCurrent folder. Running it again, it progressed further, went to a blue screen and it was installing Windows over the top of my current installation but once it got to around 80% it's going incredibly slow again. I ended up cancelling it because there is obviously something wrong here.

I tried making a bootable USB windows 11 install. I restarted my PC and booted from the USB. I selected the "keep files and apps" and it said this: "The upgrade option isn't available if you start your computer using installation media. Please remove the installation media and restart your computer. After the computer has started normally, insert the installation media and run Setup.". So I've tried installing Windows over the top within Windows using both the USB and a mountable ISO file in a virtual DVD drive and both get stuck after downloading updates during setup or even sometimes force closes.



I've unlocked the hidden administrator account and even on that account, the virus protection option is missing and it says limited access, contact IT helpdesk.

Can anyone help please?

@gohan2091 On one of my early installs of 11, everything was fine EXCEPT Defender. I downloaded the ISO from MS, then mounted it and clicked setup.exe to start an in-place repair install. Kept all my programs and most of my settings. I refused the Get Updates step, because that seems to balk the process badly. Updates are easier to get once the repair install has finished. Anyway, after the repair install from the ISO (which was on one of my internal drives, but not C:, and not on a USB), Defender and everything else was just fine. Might be worth a try. Fixes a LOT of minor glitches.

Hi @gohan2091
Welcome to Eleven Forum

If you have not executed below commands, then open Command Prompt by typing cmd.exe into Start Menu and right click Command Prompt, select Run as an Administrator and execute all commands to see problem resolves.

Wisewiz said:

@gohan2091 On one of my early installs of 11, everything was fine EXCEPT Defender. I downloaded the ISO from MS, then mounted it and clicked setup.exe to start an in-place repair install. Kept all my programs and most of my settings. I refused the Get Updates step, because that seems to balk the process badly. Updates are easier to get once the repair install has finished. Anyway, after the repair install from the ISO (which was on one of my internal drives, but not C:, and not on a USB), Defender and everything else was just fine. Might be worth a try. Fixes a LOT of minor glitches.

Click to expand...

Ok so I mounted Windows 11 ISO to a virtual DVD drive, didn't opt to install updates and let the install run on top of my current Windows 11 installation. It took over 30 minutes but now it's completed and unfortunately it didn't fix the issue. Still exactly the same I will grab the updates for Windows in a moment.

FreeBooter said:

Hi @gohan2091
Welcome to Eleven Forum

If you have not executed below commands, then open Command Prompt by typing cmd.exe into Start Menu and right click Command Prompt, select Run as an Administrator and execute all commands to see problem resolves.

Code:

Dism /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth


Sfc /Scannow


regsvr32 jscript               


regsvr32  vbscript

PowerShell

Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

Click to expand...

I think I forgot to mention, yes I've tried those commands (not the regsvr32 ones but have now done that) and it doesn't find any issues. I've also tried that Powershell command as an elevated admin window so many times, it doesn't help. I've tried various registry edits too without success. Any other ideas?

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.

FreeBooter said:

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.

Click to expand...

Windows Security does open but the point of my thread is the virus and threat protection section is missing. I have tried previously the repair and the reset. By the way, I have now gotten all WIndows updates and it has not helped

Isn't the Virus and Threat Protection only available from PRO upwards?

I may stand corrected here if I am wrong.

Perform repair install that will fix the problem.

You can do a repair install of Windows 11 by performing an in-place upgrade without losing anything.

Griff79 said:

Isn't the Virus and Threat Protection only available from PRO upwards?

I may stand corrected here if I am wrong.

Click to expand...

No, it's available on Home. I have been using it for years in Windows 10 and 11.

FreeBooter said:

Perform repair install that will fix the problem.

You can do a repair install of Windows 11 by performing an in-place upgrade without losing anything.

Repair Install Windows 11 with an In-place Upgrade Tutorial

This tutorial will show you how to do a repair install of Windows 11 by performing an in-place upgrade without losing anything. If you need to repair or create a new recovery partition or having problems with the Windows 11 operating system on your PC, and the usual solutions will not fix it...

www.elevenforum.com

Click to expand...

I appreciate your reply but did you not read my posts? I have already done that.

I've been facing the same issue since I reset my laptop late in December 2023. I called Microsoft support today for a fix, and their tech support mentioned it's a known issue. Their engineers are actively working on it, and it will be resolved via a Windows update at some point. They also confirmed that Windows Defender is working in the background, ensuring the PC is protected.

Griff79 said:

Isn't the Virus and Threat Protection only available from PRO upwards?

I may stand corrected here if I am wrong.

Click to expand...

It's exactly the same in Home....

Bree said:

It's exactly the same in Home....

View attachment 84341

Click to expand...

I do stand corrected indeed, thank you @Bree

Honestly with something as important as security I feel the best course of action would be to wipe and start over. Even if you manage to fix it there is no guarantee everything is in its proper place or set up 100% correctly.

Especially considering the fact you are unable to do a repair install, I would highly recommended just starting over.

andrew129260 said:

I feel the best course of action would be to wipe and start over.

Click to expand...

Same thought here.

gohan2091 said:

I posted this in the wrong forum (Windows 10) here and was advised to post for help here in the correct forum since I am on Windows 11. This is my last attempt to fix my issue before I format my SSD and clean install Windows so I am hoping that can be avoided.

The Virus and Threat Protection part of Windows Security is not showing and I have tried various registry edits and commands to try and get this back and nothing has worked. Windows security menu shows this:

View attachment 78949

When I click "Virus and threat protection" it shows this:

View attachment 78950

I am the administrator and the sole user of my computer. Here is a screenshot of my Local Group Policy:

View attachment 78951

I've ran sfc /scannow. I've also ran the Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth commands.

In Registry at "Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender Security Center\Virus and threat protection" this folder (Virus and threat protection) did not exist but I made a DWORD32 called "UILockdown" and set it to 0.

Here is the Powershell command "Get-MpComputerStatus" which says antivirus is active?

View attachment 78952

I don't have any 3rd party antivirus applications installed. I've also a virus scan via some Microsoft scanner (MSERT.exe) and it didn't find any issues.

I ran the Windows 11 Installation assistant. It reached 80% fairly quickly but the last 19% took many hours it then got stuck at 99% despite me leaving it on for over 5 hours it never progressed. I then Googled and some say it's best to install it from the $GetCurrent folder. Running it again, it progressed further, went to a blue screen and it was installing Windows over the top of my current installation but once it got to around 80% it's going incredibly slow again. I ended up cancelling it because there is obviously something wrong here.

I tried making a bootable USB windows 11 install. I restarted my PC and booted from the USB. I selected the "keep files and apps" and it said this: "The upgrade option isn't available if you start your computer using installation media. Please remove the installation media and restart your computer. After the computer has started normally, insert the installation media and run Setup.". So I've tried installing Windows over the top within Windows using both the USB and a mountable ISO file in a virtual DVD drive and both get stuck after downloading updates during setup or even sometimes force closes.

View attachment 78953

I've unlocked the hidden administrator account and even on that account, the virus protection option is missing and it says limited access, contact IT helpdesk.

Can anyone help please?

Click to expand...

Watch this video and download and install the .exe in the description.
I tried everything as well, this honestly fixed the issue in 15 seconds.