{"id":18890,"date":"2020-09-26T07:46:24","date_gmt":"2020-09-26T07:46:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=18890"},"modified":"2026-03-18T16:06:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T10:36:08","slug":"windows-defender-service-missing-security-page-empty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/windows-defender-service-missing-security-page-empty\/","title":{"rendered":"Windows Defender Service Missing; Security at a glance page is Empty"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the aftermath of malware infection, when you open the Services MMC on a Windows 10 or 11 computer, you may find that the Windows Defender (“Microsoft Defender Antivirus Service”) service is missing from the Services MMC.<\/p>\n

The Windows Security settings “Security at a glance” page may show up empty as in the following screenshot.<\/p>\n

\"windows<\/p>\n

On some systems, the following error appears when opening the Security at a glance page:<\/p>\n

\"defender<\/p>\n

Page not available<\/strong>\r\n\r\nYour IT administrator has limited access to some areas of this app, and the item you tried to access is not available. Contact IT helpdesk for more information.<\/pre>\n
Or else, the Security at a glance may show all the settings but may indicate to the user that Virus & threat protection is stopped.<\/p>\n
Threat protection has stopped. Restart it now.<\/pre>\n
When attempting to restart the service, you may get the following error:<\/p>\n
Unexpected error. Sorry, we ran into a problem. Please try again.<\/pre>\n
\"windows<\/p>\n
The Security providers<\/strong> page would indicate there are no Antivirus and Firewall providers<\/a> installed on the computer.<\/p>\n
\"windows<\/p>\n
In some cases, the providers would be listed normally, but it would indicate that the Microsoft Defender Antivirus is turned off.<\/p>\n
\"windows<\/p>\n
When you open the Windows Defender program (“Platform”) folder below, the folder may be completely empty.<\/p>\n
C:\\ProgramData\\Microsoft\\Windows Defender\\Platform\\<\/pre>\n
\"defender<\/p>\n
Whereas, on a working computer, you should see two folders — one folder stores the latest platform files (e.g., 4.18.2205.7-0<\/code>), and the other folder stores the previous platform update files (e.g., 4.18.2205.5-0<\/code>) which is used as a fallback.<\/p>\n
If the “Platform” folder or its subfolders are empty, it may be a handiwork of malware. In this case, the Microsoft Defender Antivirus service will throw the error “Error 2: The system cannot find the file specified”. [More Information<\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n
Running the command sc query windefend<\/code> to query the status of the Microsoft Defender Antivirus Service would show this error:<\/p>\n
\"windows<\/p>\n
[SC] EnumQueryServicesStatus:OpenService FAILED 1060:\r\n\r\nThe specified service does not exist as an installed service.<\/pre>\n
\n
Related Issue: Windows Security does not open<\/h4>\n
If you get the error “You’ll need a new app to open this windowsdefender link” when attempting to open Windows Defender Security settings, the fix is quite simple. Reinstalling the Security Health UI app is all you need to do.<\/p>\n
\"windowsdefender<\/p>\n
For more information, check out the article [Fix] You’ll Need a New App to Open This Windows Defender Link<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
RELATED:<\/strong> Microsoft Defender Service Error 2 \u201cCannot Find the File Specified\u201d<\/a><\/div>\n
Cause<\/h2>\n
The above symptoms are caused if the “Microsoft Defender Antivirus Service” (short name: WinDefend<\/code>) has been deleted<\/a> by malware. Another possibility is that the “Windows Security Service” (short name: SecurityHealthService<\/code>) and\/or Microsoft Defender Antivirus service is disabled or not currently running.<\/p>\n
In the latter case, the Security providers and the Security at a glance page would show up empty even if the “Microsoft Defender Antivirus Service” registration is intact.<\/p>\n
RELATED:<\/strong> Windows Defender Settings Grayed Out and Real-time Protection Disabled<\/a><\/div>\n
Resolution<\/h2>\n
\n\"handUpdate 2024:<\/strong> If this issue happened after installing Windows 11 (23H2 and higher), please see this article instead.<\/p>\n