Windows Defender Scheduled Scan - Set Up in Windows 8

How to Set Up Windows Defender to Scan on a Schedule in Windows 8 and 8.1​

   Information

This tutorial will show you how to run a quick or full scan of your system with Windows Defender on a schedule you set in Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows 8.1, and Windows RT 8.1.

You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial.

   Note

The Windows Defender scheduled scan will run in the background of Windows 8 at the time you set it to run. When it is running, you will notice the Action Center icon on the taskbar notification area will display the black maintenance icon under it like below. You can click/tap on the Action Center icon, and click/tap on Scheduled Scan link to open Windows Defender to see what it's doing if you like.

Here's How:

1. Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog, type taskschd.msc, and press Enter.

2. If prompted by UAC, then click/tap on Yes.

3. In the left pane of Task Scheduler, double click/tap on Task Scheduler Library, Microsoft, and Windows folders to expand them, then open the Windows Defender folder. (see screenshot below)

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4. In the middle pane of Windows Defender, double click/tap on the Windows Defender Scheduled Scan task. (see screenshot above)

5. Click/tap on the Triggers tab, and click/tap on the New button. (see screenshot below)

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6. While using On a schedule, select and set when (ex: One Time, Daily, Weekly, or Monthly) and how often you would like the scheduled task to run. Make sure Enabled is checked, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

   Warning

It is recommended to use either the Daily or Weekly setting. The schedule will not run if you use the Monthly setting.

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7. Click/tap on the Actions tab, and click/tap on the Edit button. (see screenshot below)

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8. Under Program/script, make sure that the default path is wrapped in quotes like below. It's not by default. (see screenshot below)

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9. To the left of Add arguments (optional), copy and paste the argument in the table below to have Windows Defender run a quick or full scan when scheduled, then click/tap on OK. (see screenshot above)
NOTE: The default argument is for a quick scan.

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Argument	Description
Scan -ScheduleJob	Quick Scan
Scan -ScheduleJob -ScanType 2	Full Scan

10. Click/tap on the Conditions tab, and set the Power options for if you want this task to be able to run on AC power, batter power, and able to wake the computer to run, then click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

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11. After a brief pause, you will now notice the Triggers and Next Run Time you set at step 5 and 6 appear for the Windows Defender Scheduled Scan task. (see screenshot below)

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12. You can now close Task Scheduler if you like. Windows Defender will now scan on a schedule you set.

   Tip

To make changes to the Windows Defender scheduled scan anytime you like, you can just repeat the steps above, but at step 5 you would click/tap on Edit instead of New.

That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

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• How to Add a "Windows Defender" Cascading Desktop Context Menu in Windows 8 and 8.1
• How to Create a "Windows Defender" Shortcut in Windows 8 and 8.1
• How to Add "Scan with Windows Defender" for Files and Folders in Windows 8 and 8.1
• How to Turn Windows Defender On or Off in Windows 8 and 8.1
• How to Turn Windows Defender Real-time Protection On or Off in Windows 8 and 8.1

 

[pewe]

When I try to modify the Defender schedule to run monthly I get this error.

Any ideas on resolving this would be appreciated.

 

[Brink]

Hello Pewe,

Please post back with screenshots of all the same settings in the tutorial to see if we may be able to spot what may be wrong.

 

[pewe]

Here's the procedure I followed, step by step.





Select 'New' in above window





Select OK in above window produces error below.

 

[Brink]

Hmm, it appears the "Monthly" option is not supported for this. It gives me the same thing. You may need to set it to do a "Weekly" scan instead.

 

[pewe]

That's what I was thinking - but it seemed strange they would have made that exclusion.

Thanks for your assistance.

 

[Brink]

It is odd, but it would be better to do a weekly scan anyways.

 

[TonyB]

hi all i did this and it ran at the time i scheduled it but for some reason it's still trying to run the quick scan at 3 am i think that's the default one set by the computer is there a way to clear all that here is a picture of it. it says i terminated it but i was not up at 3 am so not sure about that.

 

[Brink]

Hello Tony,

Yep, you are correct. 3 AM is the default time for the "Automatic Maintenance" to run.

If you like, the tutorial below can help show you how to change the time and settings for "Automatic Maintenance" to what you like instead.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorial...-change-maintenance-settings-windows-8-a.html​

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[TonyB]

ok so i set auto maintenance to 12 am but my question is is the auto maintenance going to do the full scan i setup daily in that task? or is that only for the one i setup? and is it going to conflict with the one i setup? .

 

[Brink]

ok so i set auto maintenance to 12 am but my question is is the auto maintenance going to do the full scan i setup daily in that task? or is that only for the one i setup? and is it going to conflict with the one i setup? .

For Windows Defender, Auto Maintenance will only check for updates. Only the task schedule you created will run the daily scan.

 

[TonyB]

ok so when it says it was cancelled by the user it means it did not run because my scheduled scan that i set up in there in that task already did it.

 

[Brink]

The "task was terminated by the user" is basically just a generic message, so it's hard to say what action was the exact cause of what stopped the task.

You could open Event Viewer (eventvwr.msc), open Applications and Services Logs -> Microsoft -> Windows -> Windows Defender. Afterwards, looks through the Windows Defender "Operational" and "WHC" logs at that time and date to see if they may be able to provide additional details that may help more.

 

[TonyB]

just looked nothing in there on it.

 

[Brink]

It should be fine, but I would keep an eye on it to make sure the task is running when it's supposed to.

In addition if you like, the Windows Defender context menu in the tutorial below will help make it easier to use and do manual scans when you like.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorial...-desktop-context-menu-create-windows-8-a.html

and

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/15790-scan-windows-defender-add-windows-8-a.html

 

[TonyB]

something strange since i did the schedule thing i was in the event viewer and it is in there again as starting then cancelled out here is a picture did i set something up wrong?

 

[Brink]

Is the computer awake and running for when you have the task set to run?

 

[TonyB]

yes sure is i never put it to sleep is very strange those last ones at 1 pm i did not have one scheduled for that time.

 

[Brink]

It depends on what you have set in Task Scheduler. If the task fails to run when schedule, it will try to run it later if set to do so.

 

[TonyB]

settings and what they look like. all look ok.