Darktable 5.4.1 won't install on Windows 11

[eryen1955-boop]

Is there an existing issue for this?

• I checked and did not find my issue in the already reported ones

Describe the bug

When I try to install Darktable 5.4.1, I get the following error: darktable Setup

Error opening file for writing:

C:\Program Files\darktable\bin\gdbus.exe

Click Abort to stop the installation,
Retry to try again, or
Ignore to skip this file.

Abort Retry Ignore

Steps to reproduce

Double click on "darktable-5.4.1-win64"
Also tried running as Administrator, same error

Expected behavior

Darktable should install

Logfile | Screenshot | Screencast

Commit

No response

Where did you obtain darktable from?

darktable.org / GitHub release

darktable version

5.4.1

What OS are you using?

Windows

What is the version of your OS?

Windows 11 Home on ASUS ProArt laptop

Describe your system

None that I can think of.

Are you using OpenCL GPU in darktable?

None

If yes, what is the GPU card and driver?

AMD Radeon 890M graphics, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060,32GB Ram

Please provide additional context if applicable. You can attach files too, but might need to rename to .txt or .zip

No response

[gi-man]

Do you have an antivirus software that could be blocking some of the .exe files?

[eryen1955-boop]

I don't think so. The only antivirus I have is Windows security and free version of Malwarebytes. Ed Ryen ***@***.***

…

On Tue, Mar 17, 2026 at 12:46 PM gi-man ***@***.***> wrote: *gi-man* left a comment (darktable-org/darktable#20561) <#20561 (comment)> Do you have an antivirus software that could be blocking some of the .exe files? — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#20561 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/CAEKG3YEKQHRD7MKR53JWA34RGTQ3AVCNFSM6AAAAACWVFDE2GVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHM2DANZXGU4DKNZUGY> . You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[gi-man]

Can you check if they are causing issues? Mainly the Malwarebytes.

[eryen1955-boop]

I uninstalled it after doing a system restore, because trying to install 5.4.1, deleted the old version. Is there a way to install without deleting the old version, in case this happens again? Ed Ryen ***@***.***

…

On Tue, Mar 17, 2026 at 2:50 PM gi-man ***@***.***> wrote: *gi-man* left a comment (darktable-org/darktable#20561) <#20561 (comment)> Can you check if they are causing issues? Mainly the Malwarebytes. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#20561 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/CAEKG34RMLQH2CHKE3S3PBL4RHCBDAVCNFSM6AAAAACWVFDE2GVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHM2DANZYGIYDCOJYG4> . You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[gi-man]

I don't understand what you are asking. What old version? restore of what ? Malwarebytes?

[eryen1955-boop]

I did a system restore to get the old version of Darktable back, which isn't operating properly anymore after restore. I deleted Malwarebytes, but haven't tried installing the new version of Darktable, in fear I will have to do another restore, because darktable deletes the old version. Ed Ryen ***@***.***

…

On Tue, Mar 17, 2026 at 2:57 PM gi-man ***@***.***> wrote: *gi-man* left a comment (darktable-org/darktable#20561) <#20561 (comment)> I don't understand what you are asking. What old version? restore of what ? Malwarebytes? — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#20561 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/CAEKG37PICGE5GP7BBHOABD4RHC5LAVCNFSM6AAAAACWVFDE2GVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHM2DANZYGIZTCMRZHE> . You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[eryen1955-boop]

I did a manual uninstall of existing Darktable 5.2 and installed the 5.4.1. When darktable wants to uninstall the previous version, there maybe a file that is not deleted which causes the new version to not install. New installation only worked if I used Glary utilities to uninstall the old version. Ed Ryen ***@***.***

…

On Tue, Mar 17, 2026 at 3:02 PM ER² ***@***.***> wrote: I did a system restore to get the old version of Darktable back, which isn't operating properly anymore after restore. I deleted Malwarebytes, but haven't tried installing the new version of Darktable, in fear I will have to do another restore, because darktable deletes the old version. Ed Ryen ***@***.*** On Tue, Mar 17, 2026 at 2:57 PM gi-man ***@***.***> wrote: > *gi-man* left a comment (darktable-org/darktable#20561) > <#20561 (comment)> > > I don't understand what you are asking. What old version? restore of what > ? Malwarebytes? > > — > Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub > <#20561 (comment)>, > or unsubscribe > <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/CAEKG37PICGE5GP7BBHOABD4RHC5LAVCNFSM6AAAAACWVFDE2GVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHM2DANZYGIZTCMRZHE> > . > You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: > ***@***.***> >