Windows Defender is an inbuilt antivirus program on Windows, that gives real-time protection against online threats like malware, spyware, and viruses. But recently many users reporting about Windows Defender found that it would not start on the Windows 10 PC issue.
In this problem, Windows Defender is automatically disabled and when a user tries to enable it, they are unable to start Windows Defender.
Whenever the user clicks on the “Turn on” option to enable it then the system will throw an error message “This app has been turned off and isn’t monitoring your computer.“
How can you Fix if windows defender Won't turn on windows 10 pc
Solution 1: Check for the Date & Time of your PC/Laptop
Most of the functions on the Windows 10 computer depend upon the Time & Date of the system. And, the incorrect time and date could trigger unusual behavior on the pc. Consequently, Windows Defender may stop working properly.
So, before moving to the other solution make sure the Date & Time on your system is correct. And, to see it, follow the given steps:
. First, click on the date and time then choose “Date and time settings.”
. Click "Set Time Automatically", "On" or "Internet Time" and check to Synchronize with Online Time Server.
. Choose the server “time.windows.com” and click on on the Update and “OK” button.
After doing this and updating your system's date/time, try to start Windows Defender. If still, Windows Defender has not worked, move on to the next solution.
Solution 2: Check Your Windows System Files
Windows Defender cannot be turned on. Corrupted Windows system files can cause problems. So, to see and repair the corrupted system files, you'll use the System File Checker tool.
To run the SFC, follow these instructions one-by-one:
. Press the Windows + X key and select command prompt (Admin) from the list.
. In the command prompt, type this command and press enter key.
. Now, let the scanning process get completed and don’t close the command prompt.
If SFC cannot fix the Windows Defender issue, try a DISM scan. to do this, go through these steps:
. Open a command prompt as an administrator.
. In the command prompt, execute this command and press the Enter key:
. Wait until the scanning is finished.
. Now, restart your computer.
Solution 3: Update Your Windows 10 PC
According to some affected users, they were ready to fix the “Windows Defender won't turn on” issue by updating their Windows OS. So, it should work in your case too. you'll easily update your Windows 10 computer by following the given quick guide:
. go to the Windows Start button and click on on the Settings icon
. Click on the Update & Security
. Now go to the Windows Update tab and click on on the Check for Updates button
. Windows will now check for the newest update and can download it automatically.
After installing the updates, try to start the Windows Defender and check if the difficulty has been resolved or not.
Solution 4: Change the Group Policy
Sometimes, group policy disables the Windows Defender, then it stops to start on theWindows 10 computer. So, if this is often the case with you, then you'll simply resolve this issue by changing the group policy.
. Open the Run dialog box and sort gpedit.msc and click on on the OK button.
. within the Local Group Policy Editor window.
. Now, right-click on the turn off Windows Defender Antivirus and click on on the Edit.
. Now, choose the Not Configured option and click on on the Apply and OK button.
After making the changes within the group policy, check whether the problem is fixed or not. If not, then head towards the next solution.