Windows Defender pops-up its window upon startup, even if disabled

When Windows Update prompted to restart upon installation of updates (Nov. 10, 2011), and I restarted my computer, this Windows Defender window now pops-up everytime I start my computer:



I had Windows Defender enabled for months now, when this happened.

I then tried to turn off Windows Defender, but this window now pops-up instead:



The Windows Defender window still pops-up even if it is disabled. How do I disable the Windows Defender windows from popping-up when I start my computer?

My OS is Windows 7, 64-bit.

Jacee said:

Did you disable and stop it in "Services"?

Will try that, and report here later. I prefer that this be resolved while still keeping Windows Defender enabled, though.

Jacee said:

Did you disable and stop it in "Services"?

Tried this. Disabled Windows Defender in services.msc, restarted the computer, but this issue still persists. This Windows Defender window still pops-up everytime I start Windows:


I then checked services.msc and Windows Defender is still disabled.

Jacee said:

Well, I'm confused
Do you want Windows Defender enabled or disabled? Do you use it?

I want Windows Defender enabled, and as I mentioned in my original post, I was using it for months, prior to this issue. I only want to get rid of the window that it pops-up everytime I start my computer, but not disable Windows Defender (this was not its behavior before).

This issue started happening on Nov. 10, 2011, when Windows Update prompted to restart upon installation of updates, and I restarted my computer.

Also, in case this information helps anyone in troubleshooting this issue, the filename of Windows Defender's window that pops-up (as shown in the Task Manager) is MSASCui.exe.

Jacee said:

What Anti-virus and Anti-spyware programs are you running on your machine?

I have used Avira Antivir and avast!, which both ran fine with Windows Defender without any issues. I was using avast! for months with Windows Defender without any issues prior to this one. I also tried disabling avast!, in case it has something to do with this issue, but still to no avail.