Legacy Update Help
Download Microsoft Security Essentials and Windows Defender definitions
Attempting to update Microsoft Security Essentials or Windows Defender on Windows XP or Vista will display an error message with code 0x80072EFE - “The definition updates couldn't be installed. Please try again later.” Instead, you will need to manually download and install the final definition update that supported these versions:
| Security Essentials | Defender | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OS | 32-bit | 64-bit | 32-bit | 64-bit |
| Windows XP | 1.291.2489.0 (22 April 2019) | 1.265.826.0 (18 April 2018) | — | |
| Windows XP Non-SSE2 systems* | 1.259.1714.0 (17 January 2018) | — | — | |
| Windows Vista | 1.305.416.0 (22 October 2019) | 1.305.416.0 (22 October 2019) | 1.305.416.0 (22 October 2019) | 1.305.416.0 (22 October 2019) |
*Processors that initially implemented SSE2 instructions include the Intel Pentium 4, Pentium M, and AMD Athlon 64. If you have an older processor, use this version.
After running the correct update for your system, you won’t see anything appear. This is normal - wait approximately 1 minute, and then check Security Essentials or Defender again. It should confirm that the definitions have been installed.
Updating Security Essentials still won’t be possible, because no more updates exist. However, once manually installed, these definitions can always be used to scan your PC for malware.