Malware can interfere with the media creation process if it’s running in the background, so if you’re concerned your current PC might be infected, use another PC to download Microsoft Defender Offline and create the media.

You can also use this tool on older versions of Windows (e.g: Windows 7) to view the data on remote computer with. Microsoft recommends creating bootable media on a known-clean computer. Both 32-bit and 64-bit systems are supported. This works identically to the Microsoft Defender Offline feature on Windows 10, but requires you create the bootable media and boot it up yourself.

Restart your computer and boot from the offline scanner.įor previous versions of Windows, you can download Microsoft Defender Offline, create a bootable USB drive, CD, or DVD, and boot the Microsoft Defender Offline tool on the PC.

Run the executable and create your bootable media (a USB drive or CD/DVD).

Go to Microsoft website and download the offline scanner.

RELATED: How Do I Know if I'm Running 32-bit or 64-bit Windows? How to Run Microsoft Defender Offline on Windows 7 and 8.1 If no malware is found, your computer will automatically boot back into Windows once the scan is complete. The scan may take up to fifteen minutes. If any malware is found, you’ll be prompted to clean it up from within the Microsoft Defender Offline interface.

RELATED: What's the Best Antivirus for Windows 10 and 11? (Is Microsoft Defender Good Enough?)Īfter you click this button, your computer will automatically reboot and begin scanning your PC for malware. Select “Microsoft Defender Offline scan” to choose an offline scan.

Windows defender for windows 7