Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool x64 - November 2019 (KB890830) -Error 0x800711c7

Try downloading it manually https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=9905

If you are running Windows 10 in s-mode, then you do not need this update: 

from https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/890830/remove-specific-prevalent-malware-with-windows-malicious-software-remo

Win10-S mode is not supported, there is no added value of running MSRT on this platform. Any install failures of attempting to install the package can be safely ignored.

According to the following support article Remove specific prevalent malware with Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool

  

By the way, how ironic is it that this link gives me "Access Denied" using Windows 10's current default browser Edge, but works just fine in Chrome (and, naturally, in the soon-to-be-released Edge-on-Chromium).

According to the following support article Remove specific prevalent malware with Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool

Win10-S mode is not supported, there is no added value of running MSRT on this platform. Any install failures of attempting to install the package can be safely ignored.

So it safe to ignore the error. However it would be nice if this package would not be installed at all, if it's irrelevant . The error message is really confusing ..

David,

Though I have an extensive background with Microsoft products and security, I'm also currently the target audience for Windows 10 S mode, since my current needs are for light-duty travel using the apps built into a Windows 10 S mode device.  In fact, my own device is precisely the same Microsoft Surface Go that you mentioned, so I'm experiencing the same exact situation and error message as your wife.

The difference is that unlike the typical user here, once I searched and found this thread where others were experiencing the same error with Windows S mode displaying an error attempting to "install" (actually execute) the Malicious Software Removal Tool, I quickly realized the likely reason.  That's because I understand that the MSRT is really nothing more than a sanity check tool that Microsoft delivers to every PC with Windows Update each month, just to confirm that no malware has manged to infiltrate.

The reason the MSRT isn't necessary with S mode is that none of the current 300+ malware items it scans for can operate within Windows S mode, so as Microsoft itself indicated in the following statement from the MSRT support page, there's no reason to run it it on an S mode machine.

Win10-S mode is not supported, there is no added value of running MSRT on this platform. Any install failures of attempting to install the package can be safely ignored.

However, the other reality is that it may be possible that sometime in the future, a flaw is found within S mode that can be exploited, requiring that a new detection be delivered to S mode systems using MSRT.

It's also a fact that everything required to switch out of S mode already exists on a system, so that includes the core MSRT components as well, meaning that Windows Update will inherently attempt to perform these updates, though as we've seen they currently fail likely due to the fact they aren't being delivered via the Microsoft store or with the digital signature required to allow this.

Unfortunately, fixing this issue isn't likely as simple as the failed update itself, since it's a problem embedded within the S mode portion of the operating system.  Since this would likely require significant changes to core portions of the operating system, these can't happen with simple patches and so aren't likely to occur at least until the next major update cycle for Windows 10, which since we're already deep into the version planned for spring release, isn't likely to be included until at least fall.

So rather than completely ignore the problem, Microsoft has provided the information above on the MSRT support page, where more knowledgeable users can find it and relate its true meaning to those like yourself.

The difference is that unlike most, I know the realities behind why this happened and so also understand why it isn't likely to go away quickly.  So I'm not saying I wouldn't like it to myself, only that it's foolish and pointless to complain, since there's simply no way that will change anything in a complex situation such as this.

TO put it more simply, everyone complaining is spitting into the wind, and those complaints won't accomplish anything.  Microsoft is clearly already aware of this problem and will fix it in whatever way they see as appropriate.

In truth, this "failure" is nothing more than a slightly annoying visual anomaly and causes no functional issues for the operating system itself.  That's why I'm not concerned and what I'm trying to get through to intelligent people here, since there's absolutely nothing any of us can do about it, nor in fact that Microsoft can or should beyond what they've already provided with their clear message.

Rob