Issue with Access Microsoft Defender on Windows 10 2019 IoT LTSC

Question

Hello,

I had a quick question on some behavior I am experiencing with Windows Defender.

Background:

I am creating a Windows 10 2019 IoT LTSC image with some preinstalled software and configuration scripts to be deployed onto some other computers. I offload the .wim image of the filesystem using Sysprep and then upload some Windows Cumulative patches using DISM. Currently I have loaded on:

Cumulative Update: KB5046615

SSU Update: KB5005112

.NET Framework Update: KB5046540

Once the .wim file is finished, I convert it into an ISO that I can load onto a bootable USB via rufus. I then use that USB to deploy to different computers.

I ran into an issue with Windows Defender not running and the UI being unresponsive entirely. It says things such as "Engine Unavailable" and prevents me from using it. Even the real-time protection seems to be unresponsive when testing with an EICAR test vector.

I was able to mostly remediate the issue by installing the latest mpam-fe.exe installer found here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wdsi/defenderupdates

Issue:

After installing this mpam-fe.exe update, I was able to run scans and get the EICAR test vector to prompt an error, but the UI is still inaccessible. On some devices, I receive an error stating: 'you will need a new app to open this windowsdefender"

I have seen some solutions in other posts about running certain PowerShell scripts to re-register the SecurityHealthUI, but I wasn't sure if this was the true root cause or what else (i.e. update/installer) is missing in order for Windows Defender UI to be fully functioning.

Anyone else run into this type of issue or have some insight?

Thank you!

Answer 1

Hello Chris Nap,

Thank you for posting in Q&A forum.

Here are some steps you can try to resolve these problems:

1. Reset Microsoft Defender:

• Open PowerShell as an administrator:

Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.SecHealthUI -AllUsers | Reset-AppxPackage

2. Check Windows Services:

• Press Win + R to open the Run dialog.Type services.msc and press Enter.

• Ensure that the following services are set to "Automatic" and are running:

Windows Defender Antivirus Service

Windows Defender Antivirus Network Inspection Service

3. Install Missing Components:

• Sometimes, missing components can cause issues. You might need to install the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable packages:

                         For x86 architecture: Microsoft.VCLibs.140.00_14.0.30704.0_x86__8wekyb3d8bbwe.appx

                         For x64 architecture: Microsoft.VCLibs.140.00_14.0.30704.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe.appx

4. Reinstall Microsoft Defender:

• If the issue persists, you might need to reinstall Microsoft Defender. You can do this by removing and then reinstalling the app package.

Reference:

Configure policy settings on IoT devices | Microsoft Learn

I hope the information above is helpful.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to let us know.

Best Regards,

Daisy Zhou

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