PatchMyPC creates a copy of itself in c:/users/ when updating, causes errors

[waylo]

I previously posted here on the support forum about an odd occurrence of Patchmypc creating a copy of itself in the C:/users/ folder, that is named after the first string of my username.  The fact the file is there causes Windows to run the renamed executable (Patchmypc) several times upon booting, or waking from sleep.

I now have a log that documents why this happens.

This occurs with the portable version, and it occurred every time PatchmyPC attempted to update itself.  It began happening several days ago when I believe the update to 5.3.1.0 came online.  The patchmypc executable is in c:/users/myusername 2/desktop

[2025-10-03 16:20:50]  INFO  Started application v.5.3.0.0 as portable
[2025-10-03 16:20:50]  DEBUG  View MainViewModel has been loaded
[2025-10-03 16:20:51]  INFO  Started [Apps Catalog loading] operation...
[2025-10-03 16:20:52]  DEBUG  View InstalledApplicationTabViewModel has been loaded
[2025-10-03 16:20:52]  INFO  [Apps Catalog loading] operation has been completed. Execution time: 1.6490487 seconds.
[2025-10-03 16:20:56]  INFO  Application exit.
[2025-10-03 16:20:56]  INFO  A new version is available. Installed: 5.3.0.0, Remote: 5.3.1.0
[2025-10-03 16:20:56]  INFO  Switching to Updater app...
[2025-10-03 16:20:57]  INFO  Started Updater app with arguments:
--url 'https://homeupdater.patchmypc.com/public/PatchMyPC-HomeUpdater-Portable.exe';
--exe 'C:\Users\Myusername
--version '5.3.1.0'
--start 'False'
--theme 'Dark'
--ui 'False'
[2025-10-03 16:20:59]  INFO  Started downloading Home Updater v.5.3.1.0...
[2025-10-03 16:21:00]  INFO  Home Updater v5.3.1.0 has been successfully downloaded. Starting update...
[2025-10-03 16:21:03]  INFO  Replacing 'C:\Users\Myusername' file with 'E:\Temp\Myusername-5.3.1.0.exe' file.
[2025-10-03 16:21:03]  INFO  Completed Updater tasks

When I closed and restarted the program, the identical sequence appeared:

[2025-10-03 16:21:24]  INFO  Started application v.5.3.0.0 as portable
[2025-10-03 16:21:24]  DEBUG  View MainViewModel has been loaded
[2025-10-03 16:21:24]  INFO  Started [Apps Catalog loading] operation...
[2025-10-03 16:21:25]  DEBUG  View InstalledApplicationTabViewModel has been loaded
[2025-10-03 16:21:25]  INFO  [Apps Catalog loading] operation has been completed. Execution time: 0.7185891 seconds.
[2025-10-03 16:21:28]  INFO  Application exit.
[2025-10-03 16:21:28]  INFO  A new version is available. Installed: 5.3.0.0, Remote: 5.3.1.0
[2025-10-03 16:21:28]  INFO  Switching to Updater app...
[2025-10-03 16:21:28]  INFO  Started Updater app with arguments:
--url 'https://homeupdater.patchmypc.com/public/PatchMyPC-HomeUpdater-Portable.exe';
--exe 'C:\Users\Myusername
--version '5.3.1.0'
--start 'False'
--theme 'Dark'
--ui 'False'
[2025-10-03 16:21:30]  INFO  Started downloading Home Updater v.5.3.1.0...
[2025-10-03 16:21:31]  INFO  Home Updater v5.3.1.0 has been successfully downloaded. Starting update...
[2025-10-03 16:21:34]  INFO  Replacing 'C:\Users\Myusername' file with 'E:\Temp\Myusername-5.3.1.0.exe' file.
[2025-10-03 16:21:34]  INFO  Completed Updater tasks

I believe this is a bug as the updater should not be creating a renamed copy of itself to be placed in the c:/Users/ folder.

My username follows the format "Myusername 2".  I wonder if this format throws off the parsing for the update process.

I have another computer with a single string username that did not have this issue upon updating.
[2025-10-01 18:09:43]  INFO  A new version is available. Installed: 5.3.0.0, Remote: 5.3.1.0
[2025-10-01 18:09:43]  INFO  Switching to Updater app...
[2025-10-01 18:09:45]  INFO  Started Updater app with arguments:
--url 'https://homeupdater.patchmypc.com/public/PatchMyPC-HomeUpdater-Portable.exe';
--exe 'C:\Users\ausername\Desktop\PatchMyPC-HomeUpdater-Portable.exe'
--version '5.3.1.0'
--start 'False'
--theme 'Dark'
--ui 'False'
[2025-10-01 18:09:47]  INFO  Started downloading Home Updater v.5.3.1.0...
[2025-10-01 18:09:47]  INFO  Home Updater v5.3.1.0 has been successfully downloaded. Starting update...
[2025-10-01 18:09:50]  INFO  Replacing 'C:\Users\ausername\Desktop\PatchMyPC-HomeUpdater-Portable.exe' file with 'C:\Users\ausername\AppData\Local\Temp\PatchMyPC-HomeUpdater-Portable-5.3.1.0.exe' file.
[2025-10-01 18:09:50]  INFO  Completed Updater tasks

[Justin Chalfant (Patch My PC)]

Thanks for reporting, we are going to take a look into this to see what we can repro.