I ran it and no trace of defender found, no service not even the security page was there, can you post the MRP project log and debug log?
I'm not sure where the logs are kept. But I can show you how the registry structure is different. I was able to turn off defender (without uninstalling it) by setting the following keys, running sysinternals autoruns, unchecking the WinDefend service, and unchecking the (4) defender scheduled tasks. So this creates a fix that can easily be undone. Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender] "DisableAntiSpyware"=dword:00000001 "ServiceKeepAlive"=dword:00000000 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Policy Manager] [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Real-Time Protection] "DisableRealtimeMonitoring"=dword:00000001 "DisableBehaviorMonitoring"=dword:00000001 "DisableScanOnRealtimeEnable"=dword:00000001 "DisableOnAccessProtection"=dword:00000001 "DisableIOAVProtection"=dword:00000001 "DisableRawWriteNotification"=dword:00000001 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Signature Updates] "DisableScanOnUpdate"=dword:00000001 "DisableScheduledSignatureUpdateOnBattery"=dword:00000001 "DisableUpdateOnStartupWithoutEngine"=dword:00000001 "RealtimeSignatureDelivery"=dword:00000000 "UpdateOnStartUp"=dword:00000000 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Spynet]
Man, Microsoft's whole spiel about "Windows 10 is just Windows - we're never making another" or whatever really didn't stick around long it seems. When's Windows 11 coming out? 2021?
That's a good one. I was on one of their launch teams. As long as there is money to be made, there will be new releases. The question is, when will they stop?
I manually disabled Windows Defender on 1903 through Group Policy and it keeps activated if I don't manually disable all of its settings (I only tried disabling all of them on the Settings' app before using a Group Policy, not just one or some) via the Settings' app too. Is it normal? It should be only needed to disable it using a Group Policy. If I only disable all of its settings on the Settings' app its main setting reactivates (the only one that does this) every time I sign in to my user account.
That's what to expect. All of the registry settings I posted were set with the group policy editor. I would have to take screen shots of all of them. So it's easier just to show the registry settings. Sysinternals Autoruns lets you turn off the WinDefend service. Prior to shutting it off, I took ownership of the MsMpEng.exe executable, but I don't think that is necessary. Run Autoruns and just uncheck the box next to the WinDefend service and then uncheck the 4 boxes for the scheduled defender tasks. Everytime Windows boots up, it is probably going to load new antivirus signatures and do a quick scan. I don't think this is good for users with SSDs.
It may do that (load new antivirus signatures and do a quick scan) after disabling Windows Defender using a Group Policy? Why do you think it's not good for users with SSDs? Also, I've been using NTLite and/or MSMG ToolKit but there are some settings I can only change after installing Windows by using programs like Winaero Tweaker because these two programs can't befkre creating an image. Do you know any programs which can configure Windows' settings NTLite and MSMG ToolKit can't before creating an image?
There's a limited amount of writes that can be performed to an SSD. Writes cause wear to SSDs. If the Windows Defender signature keys are downloaded (and written) to you SSD, everytime you bootup, then this creates an excessive wear situation for your SSD.
Well, I have a HDD so do you think I should buy a SSD one (or SSHD) or a laptop which comes with one (or wih a SSHD)? My 1903 install has some bugs like some things (msconfig) not being in my native language but in english (even after a clean install, so it looks like it's a translation problem, which is unnaceptable) and I can't install windows updates because apparently disc cleanup was run and may have broken it (I don't know if it was disc cleanup that caused this problem). Do you think if I do a clean 1909 install (when it comes out) or do an upgrade 1909 install (by running it's setup.exe) the problems will be fixed (at least the first one, since the second one may return after a disc cleanup)?
Should be an almost insignificant amount. I've tried to run my OS from SSD and moved pretty much everything else to HDDs, including the browser Profile folder, and daily writes on the SSD are 4-7GB. If you put the browser profile back, it will jump to 25-35GB/day for my usage case. Considering the 150TBW typical durability even for more budget SSDs, at 35GB/day you'd have 11.7 years of lifetime, and SSDs typically last well above the endurance rating. Not to mention that larger/better SSDs are having endurance ratings into the 1200-1600 TBW range.
If you have a slower laptop or desktop, an SSD will generally speed it up, especially if it comes with software that deploys the TRIM command and keeps the SSD in an optimal condition. If your Windows install is in the wrong language, then you need an install in your native language. Disk Cleanup doesn't usually break windows update. But Windows update can create a lot of files that can cause Disc Cleanup to hang. If you run a Setup.exe while windows is running, this performs and inplace upgrade and will rollup your old windows into a file called windows.old that Disk Cleanup can remove. If you boot from a Windows DVD, and install Windows, it will hose your existing Windows settings and all the programs that you have installed. But if you get a new SSD, then you may want to reinstall Windows on it from scratch in the right language.
It is in the right language because most things are on my native language. It might be a translation problem. Yes, I know, but do you think I'l have these two problems even after a clean install? Also, what's the difference between doing an inplace upgrade and using the Reset this PC feature?
My opinion is that a Windows user should not be forced to download something on bootup. The user should have a choice about the matter. I agree with your assessment: Todays SSDs are desiged to run much longer than the earlier SSDs. A Samsung EVO 860 is designed to run 5 times longer than a Samsung EVO 850. The performance gains are also affected by the kind of hard drive controller you have. If you have a Sata II (3 Gb/sec) controller, you will probably not recognize the performance gains as much as you would if you had a Sata III (6 Gb/sec) controller.
Language problems will disappear with a clean install. But they might also disappear with an inplace install. An inplace install is where you have Windows running, and then you insert the Windows DVD (or bootable USB) into your optical drive and run Setup.exe that is located on the DVD. It usually updates your Windows install without removing installed programs and changing settings you have previously made. A Reset reinstalls Windows from a Recovery Partition located on your PC. It puts your PC in the condition it was when you bought it, usually without any programs that you have installed since you bought it. I generally do not recommend a Reset.
But like I said I had it (the translation problem) even after doing a clean install and using an untouched image (and right after signing in to my local account for the first time, so I didn't set any group policy or change any settings) although I didn't use the most recent build but the 18362.1 one (as well as a following one, I think). I think I can (or was able to) do a Reset reinstall without even having a Recovery partition, IIRC. But even if it (Reset reinstall) removes all or almost all installed programs it might fix some problems that the inplace upgrade couldn't but maybe it isn't worth it and I might as well do a clean install.
You are going to have to mull over your options and make a choice! Sorry if I sound like Captain Obvious here.
But even aftter doing clean untouched image installs I still have the translation problem (among other ones). My Documents' folder's empty folders are being randomly deleted after some days and this problem already comes since 1803 or 1809 (I've been doing inplace installs instead of clean ones when a new major version is out because I don't want to install all programs, copy all documents and configure Windows). Windows 10 is full of bugs even after clean installing untouched images (and without setting group policies or changing any settings after installing it) and different versions on different PCs. It's really a annoying. Also, no matter what I do my desktop's shortcut icons are still broken (except the Recycle Bin one) but this issue might be fixed by doing a clean install unlike the one I have in Hyper-V which many times doesn't let me install Windows 10 on a VM until I reset it (I have an error message) since I already did many clean untouched image installs and using different Windows 10 versions and I still have it.