What Should We See When Windows 11 Boots and is Being Scanned by Bitdefender?

kellycraven · 2023-12-16T18:30:42+00:00

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What Should We See When Windows 11 Boots and is Scanned by Bitdefender?

I ask because I got a black screen with white text saying, "Your antivirus is deleting files..................." with the progress dots being about five lines long. The text may not be exactly that, but it's pretty close.

I've had Bitdefender on multiple machines for years, Windows 10. I have two laptops what now have Windows 11. One was a new machine and the other an upgrade from Windows 10. This screen came up before the log-in screen on the upgraded machine. I've never seen anything like this on any machines before. Win11 specific maybe?

What SHOULD we see when Bitdefender does a boot scan before login?

Was this screen Bitdefender scanning, and if not, does anyone have a clue what it might have been prompted from? Windows Defender possibly?

The text said "...IS deleting files...." If it IS deleting, which ones? How can I find out? I see nothing in the scan history of Bitdefender or Windows Defender that shows file deletions, or even scans for that matter. I see a few websites blocked for malware and I know what those are. (google search could do better to weed out bad search results)

This is scary since I've not seen it before, and it leaves the door open that the machine WAS infected, maybe, and missing/deleted files that I haven't discovered yet.

Thanks.

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Accepted answers

Flexx

While it's possible it was Bitdefender scanning and deleting files, there are other possibilities too. Here's a breakdown of what you might have encountered:

Bitdefender Boot Scan:

Bitdefender typically doesn't display a separate black screen with white text during its pre-boot scan. Its boot time scan usually happens silently in the background and doesn't interfere with the boot process. However, certain settings or situations might trigger a more verbose display.
If it was Bitdefender, you could check the "Quarantine" section in Bitdefender Central. Any deleted files would be listed there, and you could choose to restore them if needed.
Check Bitdefender's "Events" or "Scan History" section for any logs related to the boot scan. It should detail the scanned locations and any actions taken (deletions, quarantines, etc.).

Windows Defender or Windows Update:

While less likely, the black screen could have been Windows Defender performing a scan or Windows Update applying critical updates. Both might temporarily interrupt the boot process and display messages, though the wording often differs.
Check Windows Security's "Protection history" in Windows Settings. It should show recent scans and quarantined threats.
Review Windows Update history to see if any updates were installed around the time you saw the message.

Recommendations:

If you're still unsure about the source of the message, check event logs in "Event Viewer" within Windows System Tools. Search for relevant events around the time of the boot screen.
Contact Bitdefender support and generate Bitdefender logs as stated by @Gjoksi above.

Regards

All comments

Gjoksi

Hello.

I think that the best option for you is to contact Bitdefender Consumer Support, as the support engineers could take a deeper look at the issue, so do the steps below.

First, take screenshot(s) of the issue,

create a log file on your Windows device using Bitdefender Support Tool, by following these steps:

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/1733/

and

create a log file on your Windows device using BDsysLog, by following these steps:

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/1922/

Next, contact Bitdefender Consumer Support by e-mail:

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/help/

with short description of the issue.

After that, you will get an automated reply by the Bitdefender Customer Care Team, with your ticket number.

Now, in reply to that automated reply, you can send the screenshot(s) you already took and the log files you already created in the first step.

Since you are all done, just wait for the support engineers to investigate your issue and find a solution to fix the issue.

Remember that the screenshot(s) and the log files will help a lot to the support engineers for better and faster investigation on your issue and finding a solution.

NOTE: If any of the log file is larger than 25MB, you can upload the log file here:

https://upload.bitdefender.net/

After the upload is done, you will get a notification with the file's URL and then you can share the file's URL with the Bitdefender Consumer Support.

Regards.