Windows Defender Notifications Not Working — Even After Clean Installs, BIOS Reset & Full Repairs
Hi everyone, I’m facing a strange and persistent issue with Windows Defender notifications, and I’m hoping someone here may have encountered something similar. During routine system maintenance, I noticed that Windows Defender has completely stopped showing notifications — no scan completion alerts, no threat‑found pop‑ups, nothing at all. Troubleshooting I’ve Already Done To rule out corruption, configuration issues, or hardware‑related causes, I’ve carried out extensive testing across multiple clean installations: Reinstalled Windows using the Media Creation Tool → still no Defender notifications Reinstalled Windows again using Rufus → same result Reset BIOS / cleared CMOS Installed an older Windows 11 build (offline, before updates) → still no notifications Deleted all partitions on every reinstall (full clean install) Verified all Windows Defender notification settings, including Enhanced Notifications Checked Windows notification settings to ensure Windows Security is allowed Ran SFC Performed DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth Confirmed no registry or Group Policy entries suppressing notifications Reinstalled Windows Defender components Scanned with third‑party tools and Microsoft MRT — no issues found Ensured Windows Push Notification System Service is running Despite all of this, Defender notifications never appear on any fresh installation. Microsoft Support I opened a support ticket with Microsoft. One engineer performed an in‑place repair install Another advised me to post the issue here for deeper investigation Ticket reference: 710148747 Additional Technical Findings 1. Notifications are not being suppressed No GPOs applied No Intune configuration profiles No registry entries modifying notification behaviour Local notification settings fully enabled Defender notifications fully enabled It’s not a profile corruption It’s not a user hive issue It’s not a local DB issue It’s OS‑level 2. Windows Notification Platform (WNP) appears to be the root cause Across multiple clean installs: ShellExperienceHost exists on disk. Focus Assist toggle produces no toast (not sure it does) other apps like mail, Logitech, steam can toast notification, i don't see defender toasting any scan notification. WNP is partially working Defender is partially registering The scan‑completion channel is failing specifically This behaviour is consistent and reproducible. 3. Defender functionality validated using EICAR I manually created the EICAR test file and ran a scan: Defender detects and removes the file correctly Detection appears in Protection History A threat notification appears Scan completion notifications do NOT appear This confirms: Defender itself is functioning The notification delivery layer (WNP) is not working question at MS QA- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5864084/windows-defender-notifications-not-working-even-afMinecraft UWP save failure on Windows 11 Insider due to sandbox regression
I am experiencing an issue where Minecraft for Windows (Bedrock) does not save data correctly on Windows 11 Insider builds (Canary, Dev, and Beta). After extensive troubleshooting, the problem appears to be caused by a UWP sandbox initialization regression in these Insider channels. Summary of the issue: Minecraft creates a fallback folder at: C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Minecraft Bedrock This folder should never exist for the UWP version of Minecraft. The correct UWP save locations remain unused: LocalState SystemAppData\wgs SystemAppData\Helium The Helium folder stays empty and the wgs folder is never created. Marketplace and cloud save features fail or behave inconsistently. What has been ruled out: File system permissions (ACLs verified and correct) Incorrect launcher (Start Menu points to the correct UWP AppX entry) Corrupted Minecraft installation (package re-registered successfully) Microsoft Store or Gaming Services issues User profile corruption Missing or incorrect folder structure AppX registration issues System file corruption (DISM and SFC clean) Reinstalling Minecraft or Gaming Services Reinstalling Windows using Insider ISOs (Dev, Beta, Canary) Key findings: The Minecraft UWP package installs correctly. The launcher is correct. All ACLs are correct. AppX re-registration succeeds. Despite this, the UWP sandbox never initializes, so Minecraft cannot access its restricted storage. As a result, Windows forces Minecraft into a Win32-style fallback mode, creating the Roaming folder. Microsoft Support Response: Microsoft Support confirmed that this behavior matches a known limitation or regression affecting UWP sandbox initialization on Windows 11 Insider builds (Canary, Dev, and Beta). They stated that there is currently no supported workaround on affected builds and recommended either filing a report here or installing the Windows 11 Stable build. Conclusion: This appears to be a UWP runtime regression in current Windows 11 Insider builds that prevents Minecraft (and potentially other UWP apps) from initializing their sandbox correctly. The issue persists across clean installs and multiple Insider channels. A fix would require changes to the UWP/AppModel runtime in Insider builds. (I am about to reset my entire PC for a 3rd time, this time with the Windows 11 Stable build. Fingers crossed it fixes this issue.)
WhatsApp Windows app: No way to sync to phone, no way to backup chats
Windows 11 v. 25H2 When I installed the Windows WhatsApp app, I linked it to my phone. 99% of my messages are on the Microsoft App, not on my phone. There seems to be no way to link them, or to backup. The two devices are not connected, and there is no way to sync them. According to AI, they are likely running separately, on separate programs --- one on the phone, and one on the Windows App None of my backups are saved anywhere on Windows. AI had me look in several places, and they just aren't there. There seems to now be no way to update the app or backup what is there without forwarding it chat by chat to myself, but even then, it can't be restored. Is there something AI missed? Is there any way to fix this without losing all of my chats? My son lives in Europe and all of our chats are on the Windows WhatsApp app.Not enough disk space and can't clear temp files?!
Hi, I am having problems with my acer aspire 5. I have very limited disk space and it says 700+gb are taken by temporary files: When I try to press on temporary files and clean it, it gives me like barely any files to clear: I have trawled this forum trying all the commands I can find but they're all making no difference! This is making my laptop unusable, any advice? TIA7 General suggestions to Windows and its Apps
During my experience on Windows I’ve been thinking about how it could improve, especially around Fluent Design. I wrote down seven ideas that I’d love to hear opinions on. I will be sharing them here: #1: Two branches for Windows and content updates; Trying to please everyone with a single version of Windows is difficult, so Microsoft could maintain two official branches of the system: a “Vintage Windows” (like Windows 10), for those who prefer the classic interface and a more traditional look, with extended support indefinitely and security updates. And a “Modern Windows” (Windows 11), consistent with Fluent Design, constantly updated, and focused on introducing new features. Both would use the same kernel and APIs for developer compatibility. This approach would offer users greater freedom of choice and demonstrate that a trillion-dollar company is dedicating teams to simultaneously deliver traditional features and modernity. I’ve seen many people complain about the lack of consistency and lack of content. Additionally, I miss feature updates for Windows and hope that Microsoft brings more flexibility, apps, and Fluent 2-style fixes in future updates. And, yes, this would increase the efforts and costs, but it's a cost that a trillion-dollar company could take. #2: Modern Flyouts and Windows' limitation with volume mixer; In Windows 11, the multimedia controls displayed by apps like Fluent Flyouts are very limited; they only allow you to pause or skip tracks, with no option to adjust the volume or use repeat or shuffle buttons. This makes the experience less convenient compared to Android, where users can control the app’s volume or the music’s volume separately, and the operating system allows third-party apps to do so. My suggestion is that Microsoft should be more flexible and give apps like Modern Flyout the ability to adjust the volume, so you could turn the music up or down without affecting the overall system volume. Honestly, it’s surprising that something as basic as this hasn’t been implemented yet in the most widely used operating system. #3: Lack of flexibility in the Windows 11 search bar; Windows 11 still limits users and developers to a rigid and impractical search bar. Apps like Fluent Search, Flow Search, and Everything Toolbar are much faster and more powerful, but they’re confined to taskbar icons or floating search bars, while the native search bar takes up space without offering the same efficiency. Microsoft needs to be more flexible and release an API that allows third-party apps to appear as a search bar directly on the taskbar. This isn’t a complex feature; it’s something simple and obvious that should already exist. If the official search bar itself isn’t improved, the least they could do is give other apps the freedom to offer a superior experience. It’s frustrating to see Windows remain limited in such basic aspects, while other systems offer more modern and practical solutions. Microsoft needs to listen to users and stop holding Windows back with an outdated model. #4: Windows Task Scheduler and other menus and tools need to be updated The native Windows Task Scheduler is completely outdated and inconsistent with the Fluent 2 style. Independent projects like the Fluent Task Scheduler show that it’s possible to have a modern, organized, and much more user-friendly interface. It’s frustrating that these apps have to coexist with outdated system tools, without being able to replace them or integrate with the system. Microsoft, as a trillion-dollar company, should invest in modernizing its own utilities or hire independent developers who have already proven capable of creating superior solutions, such as the Fluent Task Scheduler. The lack of visual and functional consistency in Windows is glaring and needs to be addressed #5: Lack of flexibility in naming user folders Compared to the Android system; Windows is very inflexible and lacks practicality in many ways. For example, if my folder is C:\Users\eagl, I cannot simply correct it to eagle without creating an entirely new user profile. This lack of flexibility is a major hurdle for personalization on what could be a basic and simple fix. On Android, I was already so used to the system’s practicality that when I switched to Windows—which was supposed to be a more robust and powerful system—I was surprised to find it lacks even such a basic feature. #6: Differences in user experience between home and business users, and inconsistencies in Fluent 2; Microsoft seems to be focusing more and more on businesses, consistently applying Fluent 2 to apps like Teams, Outlook, and Office, while everyday users are left with a Windows full of outdated and inconsistent menus. This contradicts the marketing that promotes Fluent 2 as the standard, yet is frequently violated by the official apps themselves. It’s frustrating to see that Microsoft can’t deliver on its promises. If it really wants to preserve old elements for the sake of businesses, then it should separate the systems, as in point #1: a legacy one for compatibility and a modern one for home users. Or, at the very least, adhere to the Fluent 2 style across all of Windows. I love Fluent 2 and really want to see significant progress in this area, but seeing that Microsoft itself hasn’t made much effort in this regard has been a disappointment. The trillion-dollar company that talks so much about innovation shouldn’t be delivering a fragmented and outdated system. #7: Digital Wellness and productivity; Microsoft should make a native app with fluent style to help users watch their screen/app time. In 2026 there hasn't been an app that's free, solid and that feels native in Windows 11, because there aren't any API for that. Apps like Activity Watch for some reason don't work in my PC and apps like SolidTime are paid and not really fluent. Naturally, something like this should be made by Microsoft itself. Android has it since the beginning, why Windows doesn't have it yet? I believe that these suggestions, even though difficult, could contribute for a more consistent user experience, improved productivity and easier accesibility.
