Windows 11 Protection History Empty in Windows Defender: Fix it In X Ways

Why is the Windows 11 protection history empty?

Are you frustrated by an empty Protection History in Windows 11? Here is a user-friendly data recovery tool that can assist you in restoring lost protection history.  This guide offers some straightforward solutions to help you resolve the issue. First, let's explore some possible causes that will need to Windows protection history not showing.

If your Protection History empty in Windows Defender, here are 5 key reasons:

Protection History Settings: Check if you’ve disabled the option to retain protection history in Windows Security. Make sure it’s enabled.

Third-Party Antivirus Software: Consider whether third-party antivirus software is interfering with Windows Security. Adjust settings accordingly, or switch to Windows Security exclusively.

Corrupted Security Database: Additionally, a corrupted Windows Security Database can result in an empty history. Try resetting your Windows security settings to restore defaults.

Insufficient Disk Space: If your system drive lacks storage space, Windows may struggle to maintain a protection history. Ensure there’s enough free space available.

Windows Security Issues: Bugs or issues within Windows Security can affect your protection history. Keeping your operating system updated will help prevent these problems.

How to fix Windows Defender not showing protection history

What to do when you cannot see protection history in Windows Defender? Here is a detailed guide. By following this part, you can easily fix the issue and recover your lost files.

1. Recover missing protection history on Windows Defender

When you find the Windows protection history not showing, it is suggested to run data recovery first as further steps may lead to data loss. However, some users don't know how to recover lost protection history files. AOMEI FastRecovery is a great tool for this. It works with Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7, and can easily help you restore most deleted or lost files in just a few steps.

This software works with many types of storage, like hard drives, USBs, and SD cards, even if they are damaged or formatted. AOMEI FastRecovery can restore thousands of different file types, including 19 video formats like MP4, MPG, and AVI, while keeping the original file name, quality, and folder structure.

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI FastRecovery. Choose the exact partition or disk where your data lost and click Scan.

Step 2. Then, the recovery tool start to scan and search. lt will execute the “Quickly Scan" first to find your deleted data fast, and then execute the “Deep Scan" for searching other lost data.

Step 3. Once the scan is completed, all deleted files, recycle bins and other missing files will be displayed. Please select the file you would like to recover and then click "Recover".

Step 4. Then, select a folder path to save your recovered files.

Step 5. Wait patiently for this process of recovering ends.

2. Check for Windows Update

Your computer can be safe from threats if you have an up-to-date Windows system that fixes bugs in Windows and software that works with it. Some users might pause the Windows Update long time ago but they forget it. Before you do anything else, make sure that Windows is up to date by following the steps below if your Windows Defender safety history shows up.

Step 1. Press Windows + I key combinations to open Windows Settings.

Step 2. Go to Update & Security > Windows Update.

Step 3. Now you will see if Windows is up to date in the right panel. If not, you need to click Check for updates to get its latest version.

3. Run DISM and SFC Scan

Corrupted system files might be the reason your protection history is missing. Perform a DISM and SFC check in this situation.The most common way to access Windows CHKDSK is from an elevated Command Prompt. There are the corresponding check disk commands to help check and fix errors on the selected partition. 

Note: If you encounter the “SFC scannow there is a system repair pending which requires reboot to complete” error, please click to get solutions.

Step 1. To use command prompt check disk, you need to open the Command Prompt as administrator. Next, follow the example of  how to use the disk check cmd on Windows 10:

Step 2. Press Windows + R simultaneously, type cmd, and press Enter. Then, you will get into a command prompt and you can start to check disk with the command line. If you do not know how to use it, you can type chkdsk /? and hit Enter, which will give you its parameters or switches.

If you cannot boot your computer, you can run cmd for check disk either by booting the operating system into the recovery mode or by using the original installation disc to run the command prompt.

For example, if you want to test the integrity of the G: drive, you can type the command in the prompt: "chkdsk g:", To find and repair any errors that are found in G: drive, type "chkdsk g: /f" instead.

About the different CHKDSK parameters, here simply explain what does CHKDSK /f /r /x means:

What does CHKDSK /f /r /x mean?

/f: Fixes disk errors. Without this, CHKDSK only reports errors without fixing them. (The /f command will lock the selected drive for checking. If it can't lock it, you'll be asked to schedule a check for the next restart. On Windows 10, scanning for errors will prompt you to do this at the next system boot.)

/r: Finds bad sectors and recovers readable data. This is a detailed check that may take more time, especially on big or busy drives.

/x: Dismounts the disk before scanning to ensure CHKDSK has exclusive access for repairs, closing any open files to prevent data corruption.

★★★Notice: Check Disk can't repair volumes that are in use. If the volume is in use, it will display a prompt that asks if you want to schedule the volume to be checked the next time you restart the system. Click Yes.

Conclusion

The 3 ways above make it easy to fix the Windows 11 protection history empty issue. It is simple and quick to get back your lost protection information with the data recovery software AOMEI FastRecovery. Please feel free to try it out to recover any lost data.