Antivirus is one of the crucial programs for the PC. New threats are appearing every day and causing lots of harm to the device and data. To secure the device from any kind of threat, you need a good security program. Both paid and freeware antivirus programs are available for Windows devices. Your antivirus will detect and remove those threats from the PC. But if your antivirus is not opening or running then your device is prone to threats. Fix your antivirus to keep the device safe and sound. 

Common causes behind antivirus not opening error

  1. Your antivirus subscription is expired
  2. You have an incompatible antivirus plan 
  3. The antivirus setup is outdated
  4. Some registry files are not working
  5. Poor free RAM & hard disk space
  6. System OS is outdated
  7. Another program is interrupting the antivirus
  8. Certain system files are not working
  9. User has installed multiple antivirus programs
  10. A few program files are missing/corrupted

Best ways to troubleshoot antivirus not opening error

Check for the subscription

When your antivirus is not opening on your device then you should immediately check for the subscription of your program. Paid antivirus programs are run on the PC until they have an active subscription. Once the subscription expires, your program will stop working. Open a web browser and log in to your antivirus account. Click on subscription and tap on the plan. If the plan shows expired status then hit the renew button next to it. You can also go for how do i renew mcafee subscription with product key. If you have a product key then enter the key section and tap the activate option. The subscription will renew and your antivirus will start working. After renewal, go to the desktop and click on the antivirus icon. Your program will open and you will see the dashboard. Now run a full malware scan on your device.

Install a compatible antivirus

Like all applications, your security program also has some resource requirements. The program will only run if your Windows PC is providing all those resources. You should check the requirements and resources of your device. Go to the antivirus and check the requirements. Now inspect your PC for those requirements. If your PC is unable to provide those requirements then upgrade it. Otherwise, uninstall the incompatible antivirus from the system and get a compatible security program for your device.

Check for new update

Your antivirus needs a new update to detect new threats. If the program is not working then check for a new update. Antivirus updates are like fixing patches to the setup. Some updates also add new information on threats. Your antivirus will only detect new threats if their information is available on the virus chart. Go to the Apps folder of your device. Scroll down and check for the antivirus. Right-click on the antivirus and tap on the Update option. The antivirus setup will start updating. Wait until the update completes and then restart the PC to apply the changes. Now reopen the antivirus program and check for the error.

Inspect the registry files of your antivirus

Your antivirus has registry files to find the correct path. If some registry files are missing or corrupted, it can’t find the correct path. To run your program, check for corrupted registry files. Open the Run bar and type Regedit. Now run the tool and you will see the registry editor. Check for antivirus-related registry files. Repair the corrupted registry files carefully. Before editing any file you should create a backup key. Copy the registry key and save it with the .reg extension. After repairing the registry files, restart the device and check for antivirus errors.

Check for RAM space

Every program requires some amount of RAM to run. If your antivirus is not working then check the RAM. Old devices have less amount of RAM and hard disk space. If the RAM or hard disk is very low then increase it. Check for the apps running in the background. Close all unnecessary apps and now try to run your antivirus. If the free hard-disk space on your device. You can increase the space by removing heavy files like videos, and movies. Remove big files and now check for free disk space. Your antivirus will start running once it finds the required space.

Check for your OS update

Many programs show errors when the OS of your device is outdated. Go to the device and check for the OS update. Tap on Settings and hit on the Update & Security tab. Click on the Check Updates option. Your device must be connected to the internet. Connect the device to a smooth and secure internet connection. The OS will start looking for a new update. If it shows “Running on latest update”, close the tab. When the new update is available, it will automatically start installing on your device. Wait until the new update installs on the system. You should enable the auto-update feature on your device. Whenever the new update appears, it will get installed on your device.

Remove the malicious program from the device

Few people reported that the antivirus starts showing errors when they run a certain program. This problem occurs when the user has installed any malicious program on the device. Malicious apps are usually third-party apps. The user installs free gaming or editing software from the web. These kinds of apps often carry malware. When the user installs the app, malware enters the device and starts corrupting other programs. To fix the error, you have to remove the third-party app from the device. Go to the computer and open the Apps folder. Now click on the malicious app and hit the Uninstall button. After uninstalling, remove all related files. Now restart the device and try to run a full system scan on your antivirus.

Inspect the system files 

If your antivirus is not working, check for the system files. Sometimes the error appears when some system files get corrupted. But fixing those files is difficult as any mistake can cause other problems in the system. Don’t edit any system file without proper guidance. You must ask an expert to fix the system files. Otherwise, you can try running the utility tool. Open the run bar and type sfc/scannow. Run this tool and it will start checking the system files. It will find the corrupted file and will repair them. After running the tool, restart the device and now check for the error.

Remove other security apps

Antivirus can also show problems when you already have another program on the system. Installing multiple antiviruses on the system can cause issues. When malware appears, all security apps will try to get the same resource and will start interrupting. You should use only one antivirus on the device. Go to the device and check for installed antivirus programs. If you have multiple programs then remove others. Open the apps folder and uninstall other apps from the system. You must remove all related files and folders from the system. Now restart the device and now try to run your antivirus.

Reinstall the antivirus

Antivirus programs can show errors while opening if some of the program files are not working. You have to repair those files to run the antivirus. Instead of repairing the files, you can easily reinstall the program. Remove the corrupted antivirus setup from the device. Open the web and install a new setup on your device. Activate the subscription and now you can use your antivirus.