Fix Mshta.exe Error

What is Mshta.exe?

The mshta.exe (Microsoft HTML Application Host) file is a Windows file that is required by the Windows operating system to read and execute .HTA files.

Mshta.exe is a non-essential process and you may safely terminate it if you suspect it of causing any problems with your computer.

Mshta.exe – File Information

Mshta.exe is a Microsoft signed file. By default, the mshta.exe file is located in the %system% folder. The most common size of the mshta.exe file is 29,184 bytes. You may also find this file in 45,568, 30,720, 26,624, and 24,064 bytes sizes.

Note: Here, %system% is a variable that points to the System folder. By default, in Windows 95/98/ME the location of System folder is C:\Windows\System, in Windows NT/Vista it is C:\Winnt\System32, and in Windows XP/Vista it is C:\Windows\System32.

Mshta.exe error

On a Windows 2000 Professional computer when you start the Add/Remove Programs utility, you may receive the following error message:

“Mshta.exe has generated errors and will be closed by Windows”

Resolution Steps

To resolve the above issue, perform the steps illustrated below:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type the following commands and press Enter after each command to execute them.

   sfc /purgecache

   sfc /scannow

Note: You will need to insert your Windows 2000 Professional CD to complete the above commands.

If the above error message still appears after you have run the sfc commands, perform an in-place upgrade of Windows 2000 Professional. You may refer to the Microsoft Knowledgebase to find out more on how to perform an in-place upgrade of Windows 2000 Professional.

Mshta.exe – Is it a safe file?

Yes, mshta.exe is a safe file and is not known to be associated with malware. However, it is important to understand that various malware programs deliberately give their processes similar names as legitimate Windows processes to escape detection.

You can go through the list of currently running processes to see if you have a rouge version of the mshta.exe file running on your system. To view the running processes, press Ctrl+Alt+Del and then click the Processes tab on the Windows Task Manager window.

If you suspect a rouge process may be running on your computer, run a malware scan using advanced security tools, such as Antivirus Plus and StopZilla and remove malware, if found.

Malware programs often corrupt the Windows registry by adding invalid and corrupt entries. After you remove the malicious processes, always remember to run a registry scan using a reliable registry cleaning utility, such as RegGenie to clean your system registry.