How to Run Microsoft Defender Offline Scan on Windows

Microsoft Defender (Windows Defender) is the default antivirus on Windows and is a powerful tool to help protect your computer from malicious software. Apart from regular scanning, Microsoft Defender can also run an offline scan to remove stubborn malware and viruses.

As with any antivirus software, Microsoft Defender has real-time protection with manual scanning features like full scan, quick scan, and custom scan. If you want, you can also schedule a scan with Microsoft Defender.

For a vast majority of users, the regular scan is good enough. However, to remove stubborn malware and virus from Windows, you can run Microsoft Defender offline scanner.

In this guide, let me show you how to set up and run Microsoft Defender offline scans on Windows 10 and 11 operating systems.

Table of contents:

1. What is Microsoft Defender offline scan?
2. How to run Microsoft Defender offline scan
3. Run Microsoft Defender offline scan from USB or CD/DVD
4. Where can I find Microsoft Defender offline scan results?
5. Conclusion

What is Microsoft Defender Offline Scan?

The Microsoft Defender Offline Scan (Windows Defender Offline Scan) is another type of scan built into Windows Security antivirus.

Generally, when you perform a virus scan, no matter the scan type, if a threat is detected, Windows Defender will try to remove it from your computer. However, there might be times when Microsoft Defender cannot remove the threat. This happens when malware infects the Windows system processes or other important files. In those cases, you can use the Windows Defender Offline Scanner clear the computer infection.

When you launch the Offline Scanner, Windows Defender will reboot your system into a secure recovery environment. It is different from your regular Windows desktop environment. Since the antivirus is running outside the regular Windows environment, it scans and removes any malware, virus, trojan, etc., from your computer much more efficiently.mic

How to Run Microsoft Defender Offline Scanner

For Windows 10 and 11 users, the offline scanner is built into the Microsoft Defender. That means you don’t have to install another app or go through unusual hops.

Here are the steps to run Microsoft Defender offline scanner on Windows:

1. Click the Start icon on the taskbar.
2. Search and open Windows Security.
3. Click on Virus & threat protection.
4. Click on the Scan Options link.
5. Scroll down and select Microsoft Defender Antivirus (offline scan) option.
6. Click the Scan Now button.
7. Press the Scan button in the confirmation prompt.
8. Microsoft Defender reboots the system for an offline scan.
9. Once the scan is done, you can reboot the system normally.
10. It’s that easy to run Microsoft Defender offline scan.

First, open the Start menu, search for “Windows Security,” and click on the result. This action will open the Windows Security app from where you can manage Microsoft Defender settings.

In the Windows Security app, go to the “Virus & Threat Protection” page on the left panel. Once you are here, click on the “Scan Options” link under the “Current threats” heading on the right page.

The above action will open the scan options page. Here, select the “Microsoft Defender Antivirus (offline scan)” option and click on the “Scan now” button.

As soon as you do that, you will see a confirmation prompt stating that the computer will restart. Click the “Scan now” button to accept the prompt.

Once you accept the prompt, Windows will boot into the recovery environment so that Microsoft Defender antivirus offline scanner can do its job.

After scanning the removing any found threats, you can boot the system normally.

Run Microsoft Defender Offline Scan from USB or CD/DVD

If you cannot boot into your computer because of a severe virus or malware infection or for any other reason, you can download Microsoft Defender offline scanner, install it on a USB drive and run it. That way, the Windows Defender offline scanner runs independently of your OS and helps you scan and remove any possible threats.

The good thing is, you can use this any time, not just when you cannot boot into your computer. That means you can also use it on older systems like Windows 7 and 8.

Note: You need an empty USB drive and an internet connection while creating the bootable USB Drive.

Here’s how:

1. Plug in an empty USB drive.
2. Download Microsoft Defender offline scanner application.
3. Run the download application.
4. Click the Next button.
5. Select the ‘On a USB flash drive that is not password protected‘ option.
6. Press the Next button.
7. Click Next to confirm the warning prompt.
8. The app will create the Windows Defender offline scanner bootable USB drive.
9. Click the Finish button.
10. Next, keep the USB drive plugged in.
11. Close all open Windows.
12. Reboot the computer to boot into the USB drive.
13. Follow the on-screen instructions to scan your computer with the Microsoft defender offline scanner.
14. With that, you are running Windows Defender offline scanner from a USB drive.

Download link: https://support.microsoft.com/en-in/help/17466/windows-defender-offline-help-protect-my-pc

First, plug in an empty USB drive. Next, follow the above link, scroll down, expand the “Using Windows Defender Offline on Windows 7 and 8.1” section, and click one of the buttons to download the Windows Defender Offline application. You will find the download links at the bottom of the page.

After downloading, double-click on the EXE file to launch it. Click “Next” in the main window.

Select the “On a USB flash drive that is not password protected” radio option, and click on the “Next” button.

Click the Next button to confirm the warning prompt.

This action will create the bootable Windows Defender offline USB drive.

Once done, click “Finish” to close the installer window. After that, keep the USB drive plugged in, and reboot the computer.

Note: If you cannot boot into Windows Defender Offline media, you might have to change the boot priority in BIOS. Check your motherboard manual to learn how.

After booting into Windows Defender Offline, follow the prompt, and the security software will scan and remove any threats.

Once that is done, shut down the computer, remove the USB drive, and restart the computer to boot normally.

Where can I find Microsoft Defender Offline scan results?

You can find the scan results directly from the Windows Security app.

1. Press the Start key on your keyboard.
2. Search and open Windows Security.
3. Click on Virus & threat protection.
4. Click the Protection history link under Current threats.
5. You will see the scan results on this page.

Conclusion

As you can see, you have two ways to run Microsoft Defender offline scan. You can either use the Windows Security app available in Windows 10 and 11 or install it on a USB drive. Running the Microsoft Defender offline from USB is especially useful for older systems or when you cannot boot into your computer.

No matter which method you choose, the offline scanner will run as it should and removes any threats it founds.

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That is all. It is that simple to run Microsoft Defender offline scan on Windows.

I hope this simple and easy Windows how-to guide helped you.

If you are stuck or need help, email me, and I will try to help as much as possible.