After installing Vista I noticed that Windows Defender would not start. I thought a quick fix might be to unistall and then reinstall it. Much to my dismay It did not uninstall completely. When I try to reinstall the Installer tells me that Windows Defender is already installed and that I don't need to install it. It then aborts the install. GREAT! I have ran the installer cleanup utility with no luck. Any ideas on how I can force a reinstall? ThanksFrank

call 1-866pcsafety ) microsoft free support line for security

There are a lot of users / upgraders out there that had Defender on their XP machines. Whenwe upgraded using the Vista upgrade program, MS did not remove the standalone Defender and its uninstall routine. Usbeing creatures of habit, when Defender failed to execute properly, we uninstalled using the Control Panel option. No big deal. If as we are being led to believe that a simple phone call will fix this, I fail to understand why the telephone script can't be posted here. This is a MS Vista faux-pas that needs a published fix. Besides, I can't understand the accents on the support line anymore. How about soome real help?

I am curious; how did you UNINSTALL Windows Defender in Vista ? To the best of my knowledge, in Vista, it cannot be really unistalled. You will probably have to Repair Vista. Nevertheless, see if something here helps you.

I called and after pressing my way through the phone menu was told the number was not in service