The Windows Security Service service did not shut down properly

If you encounter Event ID: 7043, The Windows Security Service did not shut down properly after receiving a preshutdown control in the Event Logs of your Windows computer, then this post may interest you. You may not notice any direct implication of this error. Still, it’s essential to address this issue because many third-party services rely on the Security Service for certain functionalities. In this post, we are going to talk about this issue and see what you can do to resolve it.

The Windows Security Service did not shut down properly

A Preshutdown control is a Windows service management mechanism that allows services to perform graceful cleanup tasks before the system initiates a full shutdown or restart. It’s part of the Service Control Manager (SCM) protocol, designed to prevent data loss or corruption by giving services time to save state, close connections, or release resources.

If you are encountering Event ID 7043, the Windows Security Service did not shut down properly after receiving a preshutdown control error in Windows 11/10, then execute the solutions mentioned below.

1. Restart the Windows Security service
2. Reset Windows security app
3. Run your antivirus
4. Run System File Checker and DISM
5. Troubleshoot in clean boot state
6. Check group policy settings

Let’s get started with the troubleshooting guide.

1] Restart the Windows Security service

As mentioned in the error message, the Windows Security Service is unable to stop the service when requested to do so. So, we will go ahead and restart the service manually to see if that helps.

1. Click Win + R to open the Run dialogue box, type services.msc, and hit the Enter button.
2. Scroll down to locate Security Centre, right-click on it, and select Restart.
3. If it’s not running, right-click on it, select Properties, and set Startup type to Automatic.
4. Hit the Start option, followed by clicking the Apply and OK buttons.

Follow the same method for restarting Windows Defender Antivirus Service, Windows Event Log, and Windows Management Instrumentation. Once done

2] Reset Windows security app

If you are unable to restart the server, go ahead and reset the security app. You can go ahead and reset the Windows Security app using the steps mentioned below.

1. Click Win + I to open Settings, go to the Apps tab, and click on the Installed Apps option.
2. Search for Windows Security, and click on the three-dot menu beside it to open Advanced options.
3. Scroll down and select the Reset option.
4. Alternatively, open PowerShell with admin rights, and run the following command:

For Single User:

Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.SecHealthUI | Reset-AppxPackage

For All Users:

Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.SecHealthUI -AllUsers | Reset-AppxPackage

Once the reset is done, reboot the PC to apply the changes and ensure that the error message is resolved. If not, move to the next solution.

3] Run your antivirus scan

If you are not sure which application tried to disable your system security, you should be thankful to Windows for not letting its guard down. To find the malicious application, we need to use an antivirus; You can use a third-party antivirus if you have one or use Windows Offline scan. Follow the steps mentioned below to do the same.

1. Open the Windows Security by searching for it from the Start Menu.
2. Now, go to Virus & threat protection > Scan options.
3. Select Microsoft Defender Antivirus (offline scan).
4. Click on Scan now.

Let’s scan and see if the issue is resolved.

4] Run System File Checker (SFC) and DISM

Windows Security can crash or malfunction if there are corrupted or damaged system files. SFC and DISM help us to scan and restore essential files automatically, and that’s what we’re going to do in this solution.

1. Go to the Windows Start menu, type cmd to open Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator.
2. To run the SFC command, execute the command mentioned below:
   sfc /scannow
3. Wait for the scan to finish, and if SFC doesn’t fix the issue, run the DISM scan:
   DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

After the DISM process completes, restart the device to apply the repairs. Slide to the next solution if the issue persists.

5] Troubleshoot in clean boot state

Background apps, or startup services, can be one of the links interfering with the functionality of Windows Security. In such cases, it is recommended to perform a clean boot to determine whether this is the case.

1. Type MSConfig in Start Search and hit Enter to open the System Configuration Utility. Go to the General tab, and then click on Selective Startup.
2. Now, uncheck all the  Load Startup Items checkboxes, and ensure that Load System Services and Use Original boot configuration are checked.
3. Navigate to the Services tab, select the Hide All Microsoft Services checkbox, and then click Disable all. Next, click on the Startup tab and Open Task Manager.

Disable all the startup apps, exit the Task Manager, and then select Apply> and OK. If the issues go away, a third-party app is causing the conflict; therefore, re-enable services one by one to isolate it.

6] Configure “Turn Off Security Center” Policy

If Services dependent on Security Center (e.g., wscsvc, SecurityHealthService) are timing out during shutdown, you may encounter this issue. There is a Group Policy rule that can shut down the Windows Security Center. To check and fix this, open the Run dialogue box, type gpedit.msc, and hit the Enter button. Navigate to the location, Computer Configuration> Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Security Center, and ensure that the policies like Turn Off Security Center are set to Not Configured or Disabled.

Alternatively, we can use the Registry Editor. Open it with regedit, and create a backup of your registry. Then, go to the following location.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Security Center

Look for Start, and then set its value to 2, which means Enabled.

This should do the trick for you.

Hopefully, with the help of these solutions, your issue will be resolved.

Read: The Windows Security Center service can’t be started

How to fix Windows Security Centre service is turned off or missing?

If the Windows Security Centre service is turned off, click Win + R to open the Run dialogue box, type services.msc, and hit the Enter button. Locate and right-click on Security Centre, and select Start. However, if it’s missing, then the corrupted or missing system files, third-party software, or incomplete update can be at play. To fix it, we recommend running SFC/DISM and disabling/ uninstalling third-party software.

Read: Can’t turn on Windows Defender in Windows 11

How to fix Windows Security crashing?

If any app is crashing, it’s better to start by ensuring that the OS is running the latest Windows updates and there are no software conflicts. If the issue persists, click Win + I to open Settings, and reset the Windows Security option to restore its default state. To learn the full steps, refer to the article mentioned above.

Also Read: Windows Services will not start in Windows 11.