Windows Defender Offline for Windows 8.1

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I have updated from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 Since updating I have been unable to download and install Windows Defender Offline, getting a message stating “Setup can’t be used on your operating system. Your version of the operating system is not supported by this program.” When contacting Microsoft about updates to WDO, I can not get a satisfactory response.
Do you have any solution to my and I assume others with the same problem, as I have found WDO a very useful program on previous versions of Windows. Any information/solutions will be welcome.

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If your PC is running Windows 8.1, you’ll need to use Windows Defender Offline Beta.
For more information and links to the download, see What is Windows Defender Offline Beta?

It looks to me like they’re working on it.

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For right now you need Windows Defender Offline beta.

Joe

--Joe

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I’ll begin with a couple of caveats and stipulations:

1. RE Windows Defender Offline, Microsoft has some incomplete and conflicting instructions (and I’m speaking of previous versions – I haven’t looked at the 8.1 page). The boot media does not necessarily have to be a USB drive. It works equally well with a CD boot disc.

2. WDO is a WinPE environment specific to Windows Defender. It has the necessary drivers for Ethernet controllers (I’ve seen reports that it won’t work correctly on a WiFi-only connection, but I haven’t tried that – perhaps I will, just to see). Once the WDO disc has booted the PC, it launches a RAM-drive-based WinPE environment, and through this environment it can connect online and update the AV/AM definitions, saving them to this RAM drive. It doesn’t save them to the CD from which it was booted. The boot media is irrelevant to the operation of WDO.

3. Once the AV/AM definitions have been updated, one is given the options of a Quick Scan, Full Scan, or Custom Scan. It looks and behaves almost exactly like Windows Defender run from within Windows. In my case, with dual boot setup, I’m given the option of selecting which Windows installation I want to scan.

4. I do not have Secure Boot enabled, but I do have a UEFI/GPT system on my laptop.

That being said, I just booted my Windows 8.1-updated laptop using F12 Boot Options and selecting “Legacy Boot: CD/DVD/CD-RW Drive” with a WDO CD boot disc that I made back in February in Windows 8. I selected my Windows 8.1 installation and ran a quick scan. It worked just like it always has. I then ran Update again, and ran a quick scan again. Same results. I have no threats and my computer is protected, and the definition update has today’s date.

Bottom line: If you have a WDO boot media made under Windows 8, it should work for Windows 8.1 as mine did.

Please don’t post a rebuttal of points 1 – 3. This is the way it works for me, and it does work every single time. YMMV. I also assume (on my part) that it will work as well with Secure Boot enabled, but I have not tried it that way, so I can’t say for certain.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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I downloaded WDO Beta X64 and burned a CD. When I tried to run it I got error code 0x8004cc01 and a statement that among other things indicated that there might be missing drivers.

I suspect that there are missing drivers since I am running W8.1 x64 on a Gigabyte Z77 board and using Intel Rapid storage technology.

My system drive is listed as SATA_Array_0001 and is partitioned into a 160GB volume and a 64GB Cache.

Does anyone know if it is possible to add drivers to WDO Beta X64, or do I have to wait for M$ to recognize modern hardware?

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I downloaded WDO Beta X64 and burned a CD. When I tried to run it I got error code 0x8004cc01 and a statement that among other things indicated that there might be missing drivers.

I suspect that there are missing drivers since I am running W8.1 x64 on a Gigabyte Z77 board and using Intel Rapid storage technology.

My system drive is listed as SATA_Array_0001 and is partitioned into a 160GB volume and a 64GB Cache.

Does anyone know if it is possible to add drivers to WDO Beta X64, or do I have to wait for M$ to recognize modern hardware?

Don’t know that we have anyone that know WDO well enough to helpl. You might be better off posting the quest at the Windows Defender Offline forum.

Joe

--Joe

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Hey Y’all,

I just went and tested the Beta on my Win 8.1 Pro UEFI/Secure Boot Dell XPS 8700.

Secure Boot Mode ON:
35722-20131210_173438
NO GO!
35723-20131210_173517
Turn Secure Boot Off:
35724-20131210_173708
Reboot:
35725-20131210_173800
Success:
35726-20131210_174010
35727-20131210_174058
Of course you have to remember to turn Secure Boot back ON! HTH :cheeers:

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

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I have followed the link given by JoeP517. I provided me with a new source of information, but I could not find a solution to my problem.

I have also used the CD that would not run in my Z77 MB on a Lenovo T61 running W8.1 Pro Preview Build 9431. On the Lenovo everything worked as expected.

I am convinced that the problem with running WDO on the Z77 is because that machine is using RAID volumes and an SSD partitioned as a system volume and a cache volume. This configuration requires drivers for the Z77 chip.

It would be nice if M$ either included such drivers, or provided a way for them to be loaded at boot.

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