Windows Defender System Guard Doesn't Work on Windows 11

Windows 11 System Protection is enabled but not running? The MiniTool blog provides a practical way to solve this problem.

Quick navigation:

• Method 1: Verify hardware compatibility
• Method 2: Configure system protection
• Method 3: Check whether virtualization-based security features are enabled
• Method 4: Enable the required UEFI/BIOS functions
• Summarize

Many users report having issues with system protection enabled but not running. System protection is a security feature of Windows that uses hardware-based technologies such as Secure Boot, TPM 2.0, and Virtualization-based Security Features (VBS) to protect system integrity from attacks from the start-up process. However, when you try to enable virtualization-based security in Group Policy, Windows Security Center shows that system protection is turned off.

Tip: It is not enough to rely solely on system protection to protect your computer, as it may have some problems. Therefore, it is recommended that you use other software to back up important data to prevent data loss. MiniTool ShadowMaker is a free backup software that allows you to back up files, folders, partitions, disks and even systems.

How to resolve the issue of "System Protection is enabled but not running"? Please continue reading.

Method 1: Verify hardware compatibility

Before continuing, make sure that your server meets the necessary hardware specifications for Secured Core. To enable features such as system protection, your processor must belong to one of the following supported series:

• Intel: vPro CPUs from Coffee Lake (8th Gen), Whiskey Lake or later
• AMD: Zen 2 or newer architecture (for example, Ryzen 3000 series, EPYC 7002 series)
• Qualcomm: Snapdragon SD850 or higher

In addition, your system must support:

• Secure boot enabled UEFI firmware
• TPM 2.0
• Hardware virtualization

Method 2: Configure system protection

To resolve the issue of "System Protection on Windows 11 is enabled but not running", you should make sure that System Protection is enabled. Here is the check method:

1. Press Windows R to open the Run dialog box, and type regedit in it.

2. After opening the Registry Editor, go to the following path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\DeviceGuard\Scenarios\SystemGuard

3. Find the Enabled value and double-click it to check if its value is 1 .

Method 3: Check whether virtualization-based security features are enabled

System protection relies on VBS, so if VBS is disabled, Windows Defender system protection will not work. Here is a way to check if virtualization-based security features are enabled:

1. Press Win R to open the Run dialog box. Type gpedit.msc and press Enter .

2. Go to the following path:

Local Computer Policy\Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Device Protection

3. In the right pane, double-click to enable virtualization-based security features .

4. Check if the Enabled button is enabled and click Apply > OK .

Method 4: Enable the required UEFI/BIOS functions

You can enable UEFI mode in Windows to resolve the issue of "System Protection is enabled but not running". Please follow these steps:

1. First, you need to turn off your computer.

2. Open the computer and press a key immediately to enter the BIOS.

3. Press the right arrow key to enter the Startup tab.

4. Select UEFI/BIOS startup mode and press Enter .

5. In the new pop-up window, press the Up arrow key to select UEFI startup mode , and then press Enter .

6. Press F10 to save the changes and exit the window.

Summarize

How to resolve the issue of "System Protection is enabled but not running" on Windows 11? I believe the above 4 methods have helped you solve this error.

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