How to fix the "dotnet-host-8.0.27-win-x64.msi" missing error for .Net

Markus Brox 5 Reputation points
2026-06-24T16:05:46.1666667+00:00

I am receiving a pop up window from the Microsoft.NET Host:

C:\ProgramData\Package Cache{FE436680-E3E9-4BDB-A1C9-AA9DCD76752F}v64.108.52182\

and it is empty

Developer technologies | .NET | .NET Runtime
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  1. AI answer

    2026-06-24T16:06:13.56+00:00

    The issue indicates a broken or incomplete .NET runtime/host installation where the cached MSI path is empty. The most reliable fix is to repair or reinstall the affected .NET runtime/host so Windows Installer no longer looks for that missing MSI.

    Use these steps on Windows:

    1. Check installed .NET runtimes and SDKs
      Open a command prompt and run: 
         dotnet --info
      This shows which runtimes/hosts are installed and their paths. If the host version referenced by the popup is missing or inconsistent, proceed with reinstall.
    2. Repair or reinstall .NET 8 host/runtime
      Since the popup mentions dotnet-host-8.0.27-win-x64.msi, download and reinstall the matching .NET 8 runtime/host:
      • Go to the .NET downloads page.
      • Select the .NET 8 version that matches the host version in the error.
      • Under .NET Runtime, download the Installer for x64.
      • Run the installer and choose Repair if offered; otherwise complete the install.
    3. Ensure the correct runtime/framework is present
      If applications fail to launch with messages like “You must install or update .NET to run this application” or “Required framework not found”, install the specific runtime/framework indicated in the error:
      • From the same .NET downloads page, choose the runtime that contains the required framework (for example, .NET Runtime, ASP.NET Core Runtime, or .NET Desktop Runtime), matching the architecture (x64).
    4. Verify environment and paths
      If dotnet commands fail or the wrong architecture is resolved:
      • Run: 
             where.exe dotnet
      • In System Properties → Environment Variables, ensure C:\Program Files\dotnet\ appears before C:\Program Files (x86)\dotnet\ in the system Path so the x64 host is used first.
    5. If .NET is installed in a non-default location
      If a private or non-standard installation is used (for example via dotnet-install script), set DOTNET_ROOT to that folder so apphosts and the host can find the correct installation.

    After reinstalling/repairing the appropriate .NET 8 host/runtime and fixing Path/DOTNET_ROOT if needed, the installer should stop looking for the missing dotnet-host-8.0.27-win-x64.msi in the empty cache folder, and the popup should no longer appear.

    References:

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  2. Tom Tran (WICLOUD CORPORATION) 5,785 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-06-25T02:58:31.9333333+00:00

    Hi @Markus Brox ,

    This means Windows Installer is trying to repair Microsoft .NET Host 8.0.27 (x64), but the cached MSI file it needs is missing.

    I would start with the supported repair/reinstall path first:

    1. Open Control Panel > Programs and Features.
    2. Look for Microsoft .NET Host, Microsoft .NET Runtime, or Microsoft Windows Desktop Runtime version 8.0.x (x64).
    3. If Repair or Change is available, run that first and restart the PC.
    4. If it still asks for the missing MSI, reinstall the .NET 8 x64 runtime from the official .NET 8 download page.

    I would avoid deleting anything manually from C:\ProgramData\Package Cache or C:\Windows\Installer. Those folders are used by Windows Installer for future repair, update, and uninstall operations. Microsoft also notes that missing installer cache files are machine-specific, so copying the MSI from another computer is not a reliable fix: Restore missing Windows Installer cache files.

    If the repair/reinstall path still gets stuck on the missing MSI prompt, I found another workaround that may help. The idea is to extract the missing MSI from the .NET installer itself, then point the prompt to that extracted file.

    Disclaimer: this workaround comes from an external community article, not official Microsoft documentation, so I would treat it as a fallback after trying the supported repair/reinstall steps first: Recover a Missing .NET MSI on Windows with WiX Toolset.

    For .NET 8, the article uses WiX Toolset to extract the MSI from the installer. For example:

    • "C:\Program Files (x86)\WiX Toolset v3.14\bin\dark.exe" windowsdesktop-runtime-8.0.27-win-x64.exe -x C:\Temp\dotnet8-extracted

    After extraction, look in the output folder for dotnet-host-8.0.27-win-x64.msi, then select that file when Windows asks for the missing MSI.

    If the popup still comes back after that, check Event Viewer>Windows Logs>Application for MsiInstaller events around the same time. That should show what is triggering the repair request. Hope this helps! If my explanation and the information I provided were helpful, I would greatly appreciate it if you could follow the instructions here so others with the same problem can benefit as well. 

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    4 people found this answer helpful.

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