Two Methods to Fix Unable to Access Windows Defender Scans

When trying to open the Windows Defender Scans folder, you may get this error message: You don’t currently have permission to access this folder even though you run in an administrator account. Why are you unable to access Windows Defender Scans? This is because Windows prevents you from running File Explorer as an administrator to protect important system files. You can try the following methods to try to open the Scans folder.

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Way 1: Open the Windows Defender Scans Folder in Safe Mode

When you can’t open the Windows Defender Scans folder, try to open it in Safe Mode. Follow the steps below.

Step 1: Press Win + I to open Windows Settings.

Step 2: For Windows 10 users, you should head to Update & Security > Recovery, then scroll down to click Restart now under the Advanced startup section.

For Windows 11 users, you need to choose the System tab and select System at the right pane. In the Recovery options section, click the Restart now button next to Advanced startup.

Step 3: After your computer reboots, you should choose Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart. Press the corresponding key to boot your computer into the version of Safe Mode you need.

Step 4: Wait for your computer to enter Safe Mode. Now, press Win + E to open File Explorer and shift to ProgramData > Microsoft > Windows Defender > Scans to delete the scan history.

To exit Safe Mode, you can restart the computer. If the computer remains in Safe Mode after restarting, try to get out of Safe Mode with the methods in this post.

Way 2: Open the Windows Defender Scans Folder with Other Tools

As we said at the beginning, you can’t open the Windows Defender Scans folder because File Explorer can’t be run with an administrator account. Another method to fix this problem is using other file management tools.

You can get a reliable file manager and run it as an administrator to see if you can access the Windows Defender Scans folder successfully.

Recover Files Deleted by Windows Defender

Windows Defender is a Windows antivirus utility that guarantees Windows security, however, some people report that some of their execution files are deleted by Windows Defender when performing a virus scan. If you encounter this problem, how to recover deleted files?

MiniTool Power Data Recovery is a fabulous file recovery software that helps you restore files lost due to mistaken deletion, accidental formatting, virus infection, or other reasons. This software is fully compatible with Windows systems and has high security with the read-only attribute. Additionally, this software contains many other practical features that can effectively improve your data recovery experience.

If you worry about whether this file recovery service can find your wanted files, MiniTool Power Data Recovery Free works. You can get the free edition of this software first to perform a deep scan and recover 1GB of files without any charge.

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Bottom Line

This is all about how to open Windows Defender Scans in Windows 10/11. Generally, you can access the Scans folder in Safe Mode. If other issues are preventing you open the folder in Safe Mode, you can try other file managers.