Unable to get Windows Defender to start

[mrsjeffyg]

Running:  Windows 7 Ultimate - Service Pack 1
Toshiba Satellite C655D
AMD V120 Processor

Just found out today that I do not have any anti-virus running.  I went to turn on Windows Defender and received the following message:

This operation returned because the timeout period expired. (Error Code 0x800705b4)

Any idea what is causing this and how to get Windows Defender to start?
I am a so-so user - not much system experience.

[Allan]

1) Windows Defender is not an anti virus app. You need to download and install an anti virus app and keep it resident and updated

2) Windows Defender is pretty much a waste of resources. You're better off without it running

3) It's possible your system is infected. I suggest you  follow the instructions in the following link and post your logs in the thread you create (NOT in this thread):
http://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php/topic,46313.0.html

[patio]

Actually i believe MSE is also called Windows Defender now...and MSE is more than adequate protection.

[camerongray]

Actually i believe MSE is also called Windows Defender now...and MSE is more than adequate protection.

MSE is called Defender under Windows 8 and is included with the OS.  On Windows 7 it is still called MSE.

[patio]

Kinda what i said...
If you DLoad it on a clean install of Win7 it's called defender.

[mrsjeffyg]

If Windows Defender is not really anti-virus, where can I download (SAFELY) a good and FREE anti-virus?

[Allan]

https://www.google.com/search?q=best+free+antivirus&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

[SuperDave]

Remember to only install one antivirus!
 
1) Avast! Home Edition
2) AVG Free Edition
3) Avira AntiVir Personal
4) MicroSoft Security Essentials   All versions and all languages.
5) Comodo Antivirus (Uncheck during installation "Install Comodo SafeSurf..", Make Comodo my default search provider" and "Make Comodo Search my homepage" if you choose this one)

It is strongly recommended that you run only one antivirus program at a time. Having more than one antivirus program active in memory uses additional resources and can result in program conflicts and false virus alerts. If you choose to install more than one antivirus program on your computer, then only one of them should be active in memory at a time.