Defender won't run at startup

"Dave M" <Dave.M.3926ze RemoveThis @DoNotSpam.com> wrote in message
news:Dave.M.3926ze@DoNotSpam.com...
>
> Rojo;
>
> There's a couple of problems at least. MsMpEng.exe (WD scan engine)
> should be in the Program files/Windows Defender folder. Seems like
> Defender got hosed at some point. Can you try a repair install if your
> running XP
> (I don't think you're running on Vista where this won't work):
> Control Panel > Add/Remove > highlight Windows Defender > click Support
> Info > click Repair.
> That should fix Defender without having to re-install completely.
>

Sorry, I should have mentioned I'm running Vista Ultimate. I thought with
this being a Vista newsgroup I could get away with not mentioning that. My
fault.

I've looked in Program Files\Windows Defender and the file is definitely not
there (or if it is, it's hidden from my user account).

It's weird. Even with neither of those processes running, Security Center
reports that Defender is turned on. Windows Update is quite happily
updating the definitions (I checked again last night) even though the
Automatic Updates service appears to be missing. It's as though my PC is
lying to me.

A quick update on my last post. When I went back into Scheduled Tasks it
reported the last run time as the time when I right-clicked it and selected
Run, although the animated icon never appeared in the tray.

Sfc /scannow found no problems.


> Look at this post for your automatic updates service missing problem:
> http://www.aota.net/forums/archive/index.php/t-17881.html
> Crypto service in manual mode is just fine.
>

I'll hold off on that for now, unless you can tell me it's the same for
Vista. Again, the funny thing is, Windows Update works fine. Even if the
service isn't listed it must be running.


> I wonder why you got so many problems showing up at once? Did that
> machine have an infection in the past that got cleaned up?
>

Not to my knowledge. I do seem to remember a long time ago AVG caught
something, so it's possible. Oh and no, I'm not runnig two antivirus
programs. I got rid of AVG and replaced it with ESET about a month or so
ago.

Other weird things keep happening too. See the following thread for an
example:

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups/en-us/default....x?dg=mi

I never did sort that one out.

I'm beginning to think at this stage that an in-place upgrade of Vista on
top of itself might be my only option. I've been putting that off because I
don't know how it's going to affect some of my older software (Office 2000,
Quicken 2004). I had a bit of bother getting them to run properly with
Vista in the first place. And no, I can't upgrade them at the moment. I
have clients' spreadheets that are badly written and don't work with Excel
2007, and Quicken is no longer supported in the UK.

So, is this the end of the road? Do I need to reinstall Windows? It's an
upgrade copy, by the way, so I'm really trying hard to avoid reformatting
and starting from scratch. Will an in-place upgrade do the trick?


>
> --
> Dave M
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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> View this thread: http://forums.techarena.in/showthread.php?t=962405
>
> http://forums.techarena.in
>

I removed the update and rebooted twice as suggested. Windows Update does
not offer this as an update if I click 'Check for updates'. Reading the
knowledgebase article, this update only applies to Windows Defender version
1.1.1505.0. Mine is version 1.1600.0, so this is probably why the update is
not being offered.

In any case, it hasn't changed anything. Worth a try though. Thanks.

To continue the thread I've been following with Dave M, do I actually need
MsMPEng.exe in Vista. The reason I ask is: if I kick off a manual scan from
within the Defender GUI it appears to run fine (although the animated icon
is still missing from the taskbar).


"Engel" <Engel.DeleteThis@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:7BCCB146-1019-4D77-B53C-A686E6A69431@microsoft.com...
> Hello Rojo,
>
> You might try this.
>
> Go to the main Windows Update window and click on "Installed Updates" (on
> the left-hand side of the window, at the bottom), and then remove "Update
> for
> Microsoft Windows (KB931099)" (only).
>
> Reboot. Reboot again. (2 Reboots) Go back to Windows Update, and
> re-install
> the same update, by clicking on the Check for Updates button.
>
> Other folks may have additional ideas for you; hope this helps a bit, see
> if
> that helps.
>
> Let us know how it works ºut.
>
> Good luck
> - -- ---
>
> "Rojo Habe" wrote:
>
>> I've just noticed that Defender isn't running, even though the Registry
>> key
>> (HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run) is there. The path
>> specified by this key (%ProgramFiles%\Windows Defender\MSASCui.exe -hide)
>> is
>> valid. I can copy and paste it into a Run box and the process appears in
>> the
>> Task Manager (and stays there until I reboot). If I view the System
>> Startup
>> page in Spybot S&D the key exists. I've actually changed
>> '%ProgramFiles%'
>> to 'C:\Program Files' (without the quotes) to see if it makes a
>> difference -
>> it doesn't. If I view the Startups tab in The Ultimate Troubleshooter it
>> finds the key but shows File Not Found in the Launch Command field.
>>
>> I'm at a bit of a loss. I thought perhaps the permissions had got
>> screwed
>> up for either the Windows Defender folder or the executable itself, but
>> if
>> that were the case, should I be able to run the command manually? In any
>> case, the permissions can't be edited. Everything's greyed out.
>>
>> I'm quite happy to run without Defender; I'd just rather be the one who
>> decides. I'm concerned that to all intents and purposes it's supposed to
>> be
>> running but isn't.
>>
>> Any ideas?
>>