{"id":44868,"date":"2023-05-10T13:26:44","date_gmt":"2023-05-10T07:56:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=44868"},"modified":"2024-04-02T07:38:12","modified_gmt":"2024-04-02T02:08:12","slug":"cancel-ongoing-defender-scan-start-mpscan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/cancel-ongoing-defender-scan-start-mpscan\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Cancel an Ongoing Defender Scan started with Start-MpScan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The PowerShell cmdlet <code>Start-MpScan<\/code> starts a Microsoft Defender antivirus scan, but PowerShell offers no option to stop an ongoing scan. You may wonder how to cancel an ongoing quick\/full scan started with <code>Start-MpScan<\/code>.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, when you start a scan using PowerShell, the Windows Security dashboard doesn&#8217;t indicate whether a scan is in progress, and offers no option to cancel a scan.<\/p>\n<p>Also, when you press Ctrl + C in an attempt to cancel the scan, only the notification is removed. But the ongoing scan <strong>doesn&#8217;t<\/strong> stop.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-44873\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/powershell-start-mpscan.png\" alt=\"start-mpscan\" width=\"750\" height=\"232\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Resolution<\/h2>\n<p>To stop an ongoing scan initiated by the <code>Start-MpScan<\/code> PowerShell command, use the <code>MpCmdRun.exe<\/code> console tool.<\/p>\n<p>Open an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/open-elevated-command-prompt-windows\/\">admin Command Prompt<\/a> window.<\/p>\n<p><em>(<strong>Note:<\/strong> The following command may not work in PowerShell. Please run it from admin Command Prompt only.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Run the following command:<\/p>\n<pre>\"C:\\Program Files\\Windows Defender\\MpCmdRun.exe\" -Scan -Cancel<\/pre>\n<p>or<\/p>\n<pre>\"C:\\Program Files\\Windows Defender\\MpCmdRun.exe\" -Scan -ScanType -Cancel<\/pre>\n<p>You should see the following output:<\/p>\n<pre class=\"cmd\">Argument -cancel detected. Trying to cancel any quick\/full scan in progress...\nScan cancelled successfully.<\/pre>\n<p>If no scans are ongoing, the command outputs the following message instead:<\/p>\n<pre class=\"cmd\">Argument -cancel detected. Trying to cancel any quick\/full scan in progress...\nNo on-going quick or full scan found.<\/pre>\n<p>The above method works irrespective of the method used to start the scan &#8212; e.g., via PowerShell, Windows Security dashboard, or the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/mpcmdrun-signature-update-and-quickscan-one-go\/\">MpCmdRun.exe console tool<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"rp\"><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/schedule-windows-defender-scan-windows-10\/\">How to Schedule Windows Defender Scan<\/a><\/div>\n<p>I hope that information helps.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The PowerShell cmdlet Start-MpScan starts a Microsoft Defender antivirus scan, but PowerShell offers no option to stop an ongoing scan. You may wonder how to cancel an ongoing quick\/full scan started with Start-MpScan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,869],"tags":[396,661],"class_list":["post-44868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-windows-10","category-windows-11","tag-powershell","tag-windows-defender"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3689,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/start-windows-defender-offline-scan\/","url_meta":{"origin":44868,"position":0},"title":"How to Start Microsoft Defender Offline Scan in Windows 10\/11","author":"Ramesh","date":"August 4, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Malware is more complex today than it was many years ago. It operates at the filter driver, service, or rootkit level, and eliminating it is tough. Sometimes, you need to boot to the Windows RE environment and then delete the core malware files and services added to your Windows installation.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Microsoft Defender Offline scan - Virus and threat protection - Windows Security","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/wdo-scan-4.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/wdo-scan-4.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/wdo-scan-4.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":70989,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/defender-100-cpu-usage-full-scan\/","url_meta":{"origin":44868,"position":1},"title":"[Fix] Windows Defender 100% CPU Usage During Full Scan","author":"Ramesh","date":"January 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"When you run a full scan using Microsoft Defender Antivirus, about 30 seconds to 1 minute into the scan, the CPU usage spikes and uses up all the remaining CPU. Its CPU usage remains at 100% throughout the full scan. The CPU fan becomes loud. Due to this issue, systems\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Windows Defender CPU usage during full scan - CPU throttle enabled","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/defender-full-scan-cpu-throttle-on.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/defender-full-scan-cpu-throttle-on.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/defender-full-scan-cpu-throttle-on.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/defender-full-scan-cpu-throttle-on.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/defender-full-scan-cpu-throttle-on.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17887,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/windows-defender-identifies-same-threat-repeatedly\/","url_meta":{"origin":44868,"position":2},"title":"Windows Defender Shows the Same Threat Repeatedly. How to Clear the Protection History","author":"Ramesh","date":"August 14, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"On some Windows 10 and 11 computers, Microsoft Defender Antivirus may repeatedly warn about the same threat, although you've taken the necessary action (remediated) on that threat. When you click \"Start actions\" after choosing \"Remove\", nothing happens. Windows Defender would keep showing that non-existent threat. Cause This is caused by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"detectionhistory folder contents","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/defender-detection-history-delete.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/defender-detection-history-delete.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/defender-detection-history-delete.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/defender-detection-history-delete.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4568,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/defender-enable-pua-pup-adware-protection\/","url_meta":{"origin":44868,"position":3},"title":"How to Enable Scanning for PUA\/PUP\/Adware in Windows Defender","author":"Ramesh","date":"November 12, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Windows Defender can detect and remove malware and viruses, but it doesn't catch Potentially Unwanted Programs or crapware by default. However, there is an opt-in feature that you can enable to make Microsoft Defender antivirus scan and eliminate adware, PUAs, or PUPs in real-time. 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What to do now?","author":"Ramesh","date":"May 13, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"When Microsoft Defender Antivirus finds a virus, it asks you what action to take on the threat. The options are \"Remove\", \"Quarantine\", and \"Allow on device\". You may wonder: What happens if you've accidentally clicked \"Allow\" instead of \"Remove\"? What happens to the \"allowed\" threat? 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License OK IsPublic IsSerial Name BaseType -------- -------- ---- -------- True False\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"powershell license ok error at startup","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/powershell-license-ok-error.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/powershell-license-ok-error.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/powershell-license-ok-error.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44868"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44868\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}