Quick-Fix Error Code 0x80004004 With Simplified Workarounds

When the error code 0x80004004 appears on your machine, then it means that there is some problem in the Windows Defender application. Most of the time, this problem comes up while you attempt to update the default security software. You can get the following message when this problem popup- ‘Virus and spyware definitions couldn’t be updated’. There are many reasons as to why this problem can occur. Some of those causes are that when other security software is installed in the system, then due to some conflict you can encounter this error. Even, due to bad internet connectivity, obsolete drivers, junk file, corrupt registry entries and etc, you can get this issue. Take a look below to know how to solve this particular error code.

Solutions to Solve the Error Code 0x80004004:

This section of the article will help you to rectify and solve this problem is an easy way.

Solution 1: Set the Service of Windows Defender to Automatic

When the Windows Defender security application is set to manual, then sometimes you can get this problem if the service of this software is not able to initiate. The only solution to correct this problem is to automate this service. For that, follow the steps below.

• First, tap on the ‘Cortana Logo’ to open the search area. Next, within that area, type the “Services” and tap on the ‘Enter’ key.
• After that, from the search results, locate the option ‘Services’ and then right-click on it. Next, select the option ‘Run as administrator’. Now, if you get a prompt that asks to provide the admin password, then put that in and tap the button ‘Continue’.
• Now, within a new ‘Services’ window, you will get a list of all the application services installed in the system.
• From that list, locate and double-click on the option ‘Windows Defender Antivirus Service’. This will open the ‘Properties’ window of the service you have chosen.
• On that window, tap on the tab ‘General’. Under this tab, go to the label ‘Startup type’ and then, press the drop-down menu to select the option ‘Automatic’. Next, hit the buttons ‘Apply’ and ‘OK’ respectively.
• Finally, restart the machine and see if this problem happens or not when you try to update the Windows Defender software.

Solution 2: Clear Unnecessary Files from the Computer

You can face the error code 0x80004004 if the junk or unnecessary files present on the system gets corrupt or the storage space has been accumulated fully. In order to get rid of all the unnecessary files from the computer, run the ‘Disk Cleanup’ tool. For that, follow the lines that are present underneath.

• First, press the combination of ‘Windows + S’  to launch the search text area. Within this area, type “command prompt” and then tap the ‘Enter’ key.
• Next, from the search output, locate the option ‘Command Prompt and right-click on it to select the sub-option ‘Run as administrator’. Now, if you get a prompt, then tap on the button ‘Yes’.
• Within the ‘Command Prompt’ window, type the command “cleanmgr” and then hit the key ‘Enter’ to execute.
• This will launch a new window that has a heading ‘Disk Cleanup for (C:)’.
• Within that window, choose the unnecessary files from the list and see the disk space that you can get after removing those files, just beside the label ‘Total amount of disk space you gain:’.
• Now, hit the button ‘OK’ and then ‘Delete Files’ within the message box that pops up.
• Finally, wait for this tool to remove all the junk files from the system. Now, update the inbuilt security software and see if the error comes back or not.

Solution 3: Update the Windows Operating System

If the Windows OS is obsolete, then there is a possibility for you to encounter this problem. Therefore, the best solution to eliminate this problem is to install any current updates that are available. In order to do it, follow the steps below.

• First, hit the combination of ‘Windows Logo + I’ to launch the ‘Settings’ application.
• Within this application, locate and choose the category ‘Update & Security’. On the next page within this window, go to the left panel and choose the option ‘Windows Update’.
• Now, on the right panel of this page that has the same heading name as the option chosen on the previous line, just hit the ‘Check for updates’ button.
• When you do this, then automatically the Windows OS will look for any updates available for the machine or not. Now, if some updates are there, then those will be presented on a list and are downloaded automatically.
• Once all the updates are downloaded, then choose the ‘Update All’ button on the top of the list to initiate the installation procedure of these updates.
• This process may take several minutes to complete, so be patient.
• Finally, when the installation process gets over, then restart the machine and see if this error is present even after the OS update or not.

Solution 4: Execute the System File Checker or SFC Tool

When any system file gets corrupt or missing, due to some internal problem, then you can get the glitch 0x80004004. The solution to correct this problem is to execute a built-in tool called ‘System File Checker’ or ‘SFC’. This is a kind of tool that scans the system for any corrupted or misplaced system files and corrects those files which cause this issue. To execute this tool, all you can do is to follow the lines below.

• First, hit the combination of ‘Windows + R’ keys altogether to open the ‘Run’ dialog box.
• After that, within this dialog box, beside the label ‘Open:’ type the text “command prompt” and hit the button ‘OK’. This will launch a new window with a black background called ‘Command Prompt’.
• Within this window, type the following command – “sfc /scannow” and then tap the ‘Enter’ key to run it.
• After that, the machine will initiate the scanning process and attempt to find any system files that are either damaged or are missing. Now, if it finds any, then this tool will begin to rectify those system files. This process takes some to complete.
• Once it gets over, you will get a message ‘ Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them. Details are included in the CBS.Log %WinDir%\Logs\CBS\CBS.log’.
• Finally, reboot the computer and check whether this problem crops up or not.

Solution 5: Update all the Driver Software

Drivers are the software that helps the Operating System to interact with the hardware and vice versa. These software should be installed and updated to make the machine work perfectly. Sometimes, you can encounter the error code 0x80004004, if most of the driver software is not up-to-date. The solution to solve this issue is to update all the driver software present within the computer. To do that, follow the sentences below.

• Follow the first step on the previous point to launch the ‘Run’ dialog box.
• Next, within that dialog box, type the text “devmgmt.msc” and press the ‘Enter’ key. This will launch a new window ‘Device Manager’. Within this window, there are lists of all the devices and their drivers installed on the computer.
• Double-click on the first device category to expand the related drivers of that specific device. After that, right-click on the driver and choose the option ‘Update driver’.
• Now, a new window will pop up with the two options. Out of those two, choose the first option ‘Search automatically for updated driver software’.
• Once you choose this option, then the machine will automatically start to search for any updates of this available for the driver. If it finds any updates, then it will be downloaded and installed automatically.
• Repeat from the third to the fifth step of this point one after another.
• Once all the device drivers present within the computer are updated to its latest version, then simply reboot the PC and see, if the error comes back or not.

Solution 6: Execute the Check Disk Utility

When the hard drive malfunctions, then you can encounter this problem. The solution to solve this glitch is to utilize the tool ‘Check Disk’. This tool is in-built within the Windows which scans the hard drive to find any damage on the sectors and along with that tries to fix it. In order to run and use this tool, follow the sentences below.

• Go to the fourth point of this section and follow the first two steps to get into the ‘Command Prompt’ window.
• On this window, type the command – “chkdsk E: /f /r /x” and then tap on the ‘Enter’ key to execute it. The ‘E’ in this command represents the drive letter, you must change it with the one that your machine has.
• The above command ‘chkdsk’ will start to look for any problems with the drive and attempt to repair it along the way. Now, the parameters ‘/f’, ‘/r’ and ‘/x’ instructs the tool to rectify any glitches that it encounters. After that, find any bad sectors on the drive and fetch some information from it, compel the hard drive to unmount itself prior to the initialization of the procedure respectively.
• Once this process gets completed, quit from the ‘Command Prompt’ window and reboot the system. After the computer boots up, then check if you are still getting this error or not.

Solution 7: Execute Windows Update Troubleshooter

If while updating the Operating System, you get into some issue, then due to that reason the Windows Defender error code 0x80004004 can pop up. So, the solution to resolve this update problem is to run the Windows Update Troubleshooter. To do that, follow the below-mentioned lines.

• First, tap on the ‘Windows Logo’ on the taskbar to open the Start menu.
• After that, just above the ‘Power’ choose the ‘Gear’ icon. This will launch a new window ‘Windows Settings’.
• Inside this window, locate and choose the ‘Update & Security’ category at the lower end.
• Now, a new page within this window will come up. On this page, go to the left pane and navigate to the option ‘Troubleshoot’ and select it. This opens a new section on the right within that page with a similar heading as the option that you have chosen at the last line.
• Next, on that section of the page, scroll down and under the subheading ‘Get up and running’, choose the option ‘Windows Update’.
• When that option expands, then at the lower right corner of it, tap the button ‘Run the troubleshooter’.
• As soon as you click on it, a new window comes up and automatically the OS starts to look for any problems, occurred during the update procedure.
• If it finds any pending updates that need to be installed, then you will get two options ‘Apply this fix’ or Skip this fix’. Now, to download other updates and install the pending ones, hit the first link otherwise tap on the second link.
• When you tap on the ‘Skip this fix’ link, then the troubleshooter will look for any problems in the updates. If any corruption is found, it will get displayed on the next page of this window with the two links that are mentioned in the last step.
• When the Windows Update is done, then close the troubleshooter and restart the computer.

Solution 8: Perform a System Restore

If all the above points present in this section cannot able to resolve the error 0x80004004, then the only solution you have is to restore the computer. The procedure to perform a system restore is given below.

• Navigate to the initial point present in this section. After that, follow the first step within that point.
• Now, in the search area, type in the “control panel” and then press the Enter button. Next, from the output of this search, choose the ‘Control Panel’ option. Now, a new window comes up that has a similar name as the option you selected on the previous line.
• On this window, locate and select the category ‘System and Security’. After that, a new page within this window opens up, out of the several options present on this page, choose the ‘System’.
• Now, once again a new page will come up, go to the left panel and choose the link ‘System protection’. This will open a new dialog box where the ‘System Protected’ tab is already chosen.
• Under this tab, choose the ‘System Restore…’ button. This will launch another new window, here tap on the ‘Next’ button.
• A new page within this window will come which has all the restore points created for the system. From that list, carefully search and select a restore point before this glitch happened and tap on ‘Next’.
• On the final page of this window, inspect all the details like ‘Time:’, ‘Description:’ and ‘Drives:’ of the restore point you chose on the last step, then tap the ‘Finish’ button.
• Finally, when a confirmation message to initiate the ‘System Restore’ pops up, then just simply tap ‘Yes’. When the computer is restored back to the point that you have selected, then inspect whether this problem comes back or not.

Concluding Part

You will have to follow all the steps on every point that are present in the previous section, in order to rectify the error code 0x80004004 easily and effectively. But, even after following all the points on the above section, still you are unable to rectify this glitch, then do not panic at all. Just provide details about the query on the comment section present at the bottom of this page and fix this problem.