Member Avatar for rea123gan

hey guys so i got a problem..........i dont know if i got a virus or what but every time i even begin to open a program that annoying windows installer box comes up and "prepares to download" it does it like its a popup u cant get rid of.....can some one please tell me what to do or find out where that file is located so i can just delete it!!!!!!!!!! thanks!!!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by frenemy

Dani AI

Generated

A short, practical diagnosis and next steps for the symptom reported by : a brief, unclosable Windows Installer dialog appearing when other applications start. This is most often caused by the Windows Installer service launching a repair or configuration operation for a registered product (self-repair), though malware that spawns a fake msiexec.exe is possible. 's suggestion to check whether the affected programs are Microsoft/MSI-based is relevant; 's malware warning is worth keeping in mind when file locations look suspicious.

Steps to narrow it down:

  • Verify the running process. When the dialog appears, use Task Manager or Process Explorer to find msiexec.exe, then use "Open file location" (or inspect the process command line) to confirm the executable is C:\Windows\System32\msiexec.exe and is digitally signed by Microsoft. If msiexec.exe is elsewhere, treat as suspect.
  • Check Event Viewer. Look in the Application log for entries from the MsiInstaller/Windows Installer source. Those entries usually name the product or show a ProductCode GUID. That information points to which installed product is triggering the repair.
  • Identify the product. If a ProductCode appears, search installed programs or the registry for that GUID to find the product name. Once identified, repair or fully reinstall that application via Add/Remove Programs (or the vendor installer).

Remedies and cautions:

  • Do not delete msiexec.exe or related system files. Removing system binaries breaks Windows.
  • If the installer repeatedly tries to fetch missing source files (network share or CD), reinstall the product so the source is correct.
  • As a temporary suppressor, stopping the Windows Installer service will halt popups but also blocks legitimate installs/repairs; use with caution.
  • If msiexec.exe looks illegitimate, run a full antivirus + up-to-date anti-malware scan and consider an offline rescue scan. Use Autoruns/Process Explorer to check suspicious startup items or shell extensions.

This approach separates likely self-repair issues from genuine malware and gives focused actions based on what Event Viewer and the process path reveal.

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Member Avatar for StandardsDT

hey guys so i got a problem..........i dont know if i got a virus or what but every time i even begin to open a program that annoying windows installer box comes up and "prepares to download" it does it like its a popup u cant get rid of.....can some one please tell me what to do or find out where that file is located so i can just delete it!!!!!!!!!! thanks!!!

are you opening a microsoft program? if so some programs from microsoft need to run its automatic installer and download some things, or is this the first time it's ever happened and youve opened these other programs before?

- Dave

Member Avatar for frenemy

I think you have some form of the W32 worm. Same thing happened on the comp I worked on the other day. Some installer window would pop up for a brief second then go away.

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