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I reset my personal laptop to remove everything. This seems to have broken the built-in anti-virus.

  1. I ran "Reset this PC" with "Remove everything", and then re-created my user account on my personal PC.

  2. I downloaded the Firefox installer, and saved it to my Downloads folder.

  3. Right click > Show more options > Scan with Microsoft Defender

=> Windows shows the error "Your IT administrator has limited access", etc. See first screenshot.

Or if I open Settings > Privacy & Security > Windows Security. The first "Protection Area" is Virus & threat protection with a red cross, and says "Actions needed" underneath it. Clicking on it shows the exact same error screen.

Alternatively, if I close all the windows, and run the "Windows Security" app, it shows no error box, and an entirely blank window.

"Add or remove programs" does not list any other anti-virus, only Microsoft Defender.

The same happens if I turn the computer off and back on again, using Start > Power > Restart.

I have also recently seen the same happen on a second hand computer, where the seller (correctly) appeared to have used "Reset this PC".

  • Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2

Windows Security. Page not available. Your 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.

A window titled "Windows Security". The window has no content. It is a blank white window.

sourcejedi
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1 Answers1

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Simply restarting does not immediately resolve this error.

However, the error went away after I took a few minutes to install 5 Windows Updates (with no restart).

Comments

I don't know if this was resolved by a bugfix update, or by something else. But when you're setting up a PC from scratch, or looking at a weird error, I think it's good to make sure your software is up to date.

This surprised me, because I had checked for updates immediately before running "Reset this PC", and there were no pending updates. It seems like doing a reset can roll back a few of the most recent updates.

Here are the updates that were installed. Not shown: Other updates (1): Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool x64 - v5.132.

5 Updates installed. These include several updates for Windows 11, and also "Update for Windows Security platform".

sourcejedi
  • 3,860