Malicious Software Removal Tool in Win10 Home won't run

Actually, though I generally agree with Richard as you already understand, I'll say this a different way in hopes you'll understand my true sentiment.

Regardless of the fact that the MSRT was working in the past and isn't working properly now, the core issue you should and I believe actually are concerned about is your computer's security.  The fact that the MSRT itself isn't working is completely unimportant, the deeper question we're all asking is; Why?

So assuming we're now on the same page, the point I'm trying to make (and I believe others as well) is that you're concentrating on the symptom rather than the problem.  We've all tried to provide differing solutions to either find the true failure or simply bypass this and repair your system using known processes.

Any of these methods might be valid, but simply repeating the same failed attempts to use a tool that's for whatever reason malfunctioning is a complete waste of time.

So by no means am I personally telling you not to try and get it working, since something's obviously not right with that's causing it to fail.  I'm simply saying that you are wasting your time making repeated attempts to fi this from the standpoint of the file itself, since we've been unable to find anything that confirms this is where the problem lies.  In fact, we know that's not true since every log entry you've shown us so far indicates the problem only occurs when executing it manually, with the automatic process working perfectly each time it's been logged.

So why you keep banging your head against the same wall is what I (we?) are really asking and so why you won't try some of the more comprehensive, system wide repair methods provided by others earlier in this thread?  I can't say whether any of these will work up to but not including a complete operating system reinstall, but I can assure you they have a better chance of working more quickly than continuing to play with the executable file itself, downloaded by hand or not.

By this point the question of why is typically of less concern than how to return to normal operation quickly and easily.

Rob

For what it is worth to you.

My advice to you at this time would be to leave it be (as in no more re-downloading the same thing over and over again, or even just one extra one more time) for at least one more month plus a day or two and then just check your update history and the MRT.log file to quell your worry about did it run or did it not.

I look at it like this, one can use a screwdriver for a chisel, it can be held in place and can be whacked with a hammer, it might workout here and there, until it doesn't. Just because it did work out several times before doesn't mean that it was used as intended and using it this way was, in essence, a setup for a failure, possibly with injury involved.

But of course, this is none other than my own personal opinion.

Regards,

-Richard

Hi Rob,

Other than a minor detail (I was perhaps paying greater attention to the ending time of each scan to the beginning time of the next scan while trying to keep the context of the whole in mind as well) I agree 100%. The OP seems to be intent on wanting to use the product for something other than what it was created for, intended to be used for, developed for, and plain and simply is not fit for use for accordingly. I must admit that I am having a hard time trying to understand the thought processes behind this apparent fact. You know, it brings to mind that I have been accused, once or twice in the past, of sometimes not washing my hands frequently enough, could this be due to some sort of reverse OCD syndrome, hmm, I wonder.

Anyway, if someone, anyone, is worried about and wanting to do a 2nd or even a 3rd layer safety scan for their device and they want a free MS product for the scan, the Microsoft safety scanner would be a much better choice rather than running multiple scans with the same MSRT that's not even meant for nor fit for that purpose in the first place. 

https://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx

It's been fun Rob,

-Richard

Richard,

In this view of the log I see the timing of the downloads I'd missed earlier when concentrating on the length of time each scan took while looking for failure or success.

Since the second of the two failures with v5.48 in each case occurred at an hour and then 10 minutes before the succeeding automatic Windows Update download and execution of the v5.49 version, it appears these may have been triggered by the previous failed executions, though we have nothing else here to confirm this is true.

It's possible the trigger was simply the roughly daily execution of Windows Update itself, since if this detected an older version in the System32 folder it would automatically perform that update and execution sequence.  If the system was turned on each day shortly before doing the earlier manual scans, it wouldn't be surprising if the Windows Update check would occur soon after, though the 1 hour delay on the 14th isn't fully explained by this.

In any case, I think we've gotten wound up in trying to explain a pointless effort, since as we've both mentioned previously, re-executing a tool that's typically only updated once a month and provides a limited set of detections is a complete waste of time.  That's especially true since the automatic monthly scan seems to operate properly, even replacing the tool multiple times if it's been improperly replaced with an outdated version.

Why the manual execution of the installed tool fails to run appears to be a mystery, but who cares if the primary function of the monthly scan works fine anyway?

Rather than try to figure out why manual execution is failing, RikDatta should simply use an alternative on demand scanner like the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware we've both (all?) recommended, since this would provide both a second opinion for the most commonly encountered malware, as well as the PUPs that MBAM is known to be more aggressive at detecting.

This entire thread has been an exercise in futility.

Rob