WIndows Defender antivirus stops and won't restart

[Dave7T]

I've got a brand new Envy laptop, W10 Pro, less than a week old. I uninstalled the MacAffee stuff that was on it and started Windows antivirus. But not the AV only runs for a minute or so after boot, then it says "Threat service has stopped".  When I press the restart button, it ponders for a while, then says "Unexpected error. Sorry, we ran into a problem. Try again." Of course, trying again doesn't help. I've found some general posts online and followed the instructions for various repair steps, to no avail. Any idea how to get Windows antivirus working?

[WAWood]

@Dave7T 

Most likely, you did not actually remove all the remnants of McAfee -- as uninstalling it might not be enough.

You need to search online for additional removal steps as we don't have those to provide to you.

Also, we are unable to diagnose or repair issues with Microsoft products.  You would have to contact Microsoft support for those.

[Dave7T]

Thanks for your reply.

I'm fairly certain that MacAfee is completely gone. There is nothing left in Windows Explorer, and I searched the registry and found nothing for "MacAfee".

Your signature says you are a volunteer, not an HP employee. Thanks for your efforts here.

It seems to me that a brand new computer with W10 Pro factory installed should be able to run Windows anti-virus. Yes, it's a MS program, but any new computer should be able to run it. So I'm thinking that a more official HP support channel might be the next step.

Nonetheless, if anyone else has suggestions...

Thanks again,

      DaveT