Windows Defender Error Code: 0x80073afc

Anonymous
2015-03-23T22:21:12+00:00

Hi, I receive this error code when i try to open Windows Defender and it says: An error as occurred, in the program during initialization. If this problem continues, please contact your system administrator. Error code 0x80073afc. And in the Action Center it says that Windows Defender is turned off.

Please help!

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Security and privacy

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-03-25T18:45:02+00:00

    Norton was installed but it has since been removed. And McAfee was preinstalled  on the computer when I bought it.

    @Robynn J only =>

    Had your Norton subscription or free-trial period already expired by the time you removed it?

    Have you ever run the Norton Removal Tool and/or or the McAfee Consumer Products Removal Tool?

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-03-26T18:56:58+00:00

    Hi Robynn:

    I am an engineer in the Windows Defender team. If you could get us some logs, we could investigate the issue and report back any findings on this thread.

    • From an elevated command prompt, change directory to “%programfiles%\Windows Defender” (eg: c:\Program Files\Windows Defender)
    • In the command prompt, run:       MpCmdRun.exe -GetFiles
    • The output in the command prompt will show the path to a cab file. Please share the resultant cab with us by uploading the file to your OneDrive and sharing a link to the file.

    Thank you.

    Hi, I receive this error code when i try to open Windows Defender and it says: An error as occurred, in the program during initialization. If this problem continues, please contact your system administrator. Error code 0x80073afc. And in the Action Center it says that Windows Defender is turned off.

    Please help!

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  4. Anonymous
    2015-03-26T21:03:08+00:00

    Thanks for all the help! The System Restore solved the problem.

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  5. Anonymous
    2015-03-26T23:58:01+00:00

    The System Restore solved the problem.

    Uh-huh...

    Have you ever run the Norton Removal Tool and/or or the McAfee Consumer Products Removal Tool?

    What Definitions version is currently displayed in Defender's Update tab?

    Figure 1: Windows Defender Update tab

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