MTA:SA fix

Antivirus says MTA is a virus, or GTA:SA executable is incorrect or missing

Your anti-virus says MTA or its installer is a virus, or MTA says the GTA:SA executable is incorrect or missing. Get MTA from the official site first, then check your anti-virus for a false alarm.

Steps

1. Download MTA from the official site

   MTA's FAQ says MTA does not contain any viruses, malware, adware or spyware. MTA's manual says to download MTA from the download page at multitheftauto.com. If you are not sure that your copy is the real one, download MTA again from the official site. Then run the installer.

   Source: MTA wiki, MTA wiki

2. Check your anti-virus for a false alarm

   Only if MTA says the GTA:SA executable is incorrect or missing.

   MTA's message shows the path of a GTA:SA program file. It asks you to check your anti-virus for a false-positive detection. A false positive means your anti-virus thinks a file is a virus, but it is not.

   Source: MTA source code, MTA wiki

3. Add an exception, then restart MTA

   Only if MTA says the GTA:SA executable is incorrect or missing.

   In your anti-virus, add an exception for the GTA:SA program file shown in the message. Then start MTA:SA again.

   Careful: Add the exception only for the GTA:SA program file named in the message.

   Source: MTA source code, CIT Live KB · account_support.md

4. With Windows Security (Microsoft Defender)

   Only if MTA says the GTA:SA executable is incorrect or missing, and Windows Security (Microsoft Defender) is your anti-virus.

   Open the Windows Security app and select Virus & threat protection, then Manage settings. Then select Add or remove exclusions, choose File, and pick the GTA:SA file named in the message.

   Careful: Microsoft warns that with an exclusion, Microsoft Defender no longer checks that file for threats. This can leave your PC and data at risk. Make sure you really want to do this, and add the exclusion only for the GTA:SA file named in the message.

   Source: Microsoft

5. MTA shows loader.dll (error 126)

   Only if MTA shows loader.dll (error 126).

   MTA's FAQ says Avast, McAfee and perhaps other anti-virus programs have wrongly flagged MTA's loader.dll before. Use the loader.dll error 126 fix. It has steps for Avast, McAfee and other anti-virus programs.

   loader.dll error 126 →

   Source: MTA wiki

See also: loader.dll error 126, GTA executable or a required GTA file is missing, MTA installer says the download is incorrect, CL22: MTA could not start GTA:SA, MTA warns that it could not detect an anti-virus

Still not fixed? Copy the whole message, not only the code, and check your log in the Fix tool. It is read on your own computer.

Other problems like this

• CL29: client integrity warning at launch
• Another MTA or GTA instance is already running
• MTA data files or core.dll are missing
• MSVCR, VCRUNTIME or core.dll cannot load
• D3DX9 DLL is missing
• CC50: Direct3D9 could not initialize

All fix guides · Every MTA:SA error code · Crash codes and offsets