Helmut Buhler created GadgetPack back in the Vista era. It's been keep alive since then by a variety of developers, including himself. He has stepped back from maintaining the code base, but endorses gadgetsrevived.com as the authoritative source for updates and enhancements. The gadgetpack.net site that PatchMyPC uses to update the app is now inserting bogus-ware (download manager: Pulse) into its download code, while the version at gadgetsrevived.com is still clean and pristine. I therefore rcommend that PatchMyPC shift its focus over from the old gadgetpack.net site to the equally old and authoritative gadgetsrevived.com site. FWIW, my last attempt to install the v40.0 update via PatchMyPC on a Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen 3 Mobile workstation was rejected (and rightfully) so by the install environment.
Here's what Copilot tells me happened:
The installer from gadgetpack.net was not a valid MSI
Your system tried to open it and immediately hit:
- corruption flags
- signature mismatches
- invalid internal metadata
Windows Installer rejected it before it even got to the UI layer.
This is why PatchMyPC also choked on it.
2. SmartScreen and Defender reputation both flagged it
Because the file:
- wasn't signed by a known publisher
- didn't match the known hash of the real GadgetPack
- came from a domain with low reputation
- had a history of bundling "download managers"
Your P16G3 is in a healthy trust state, so it did exactly what it should: block execution.
Flo6 didn't hit this because it never saw the corrupted MSI.
3. The installer attempted to install a mismatched Sidebar engine
The gadgetpack.net version uses an old, modified, or incomplete Sidebar engine, and when it tried to deploy it:
- Windows detected existing Sidebar components
- the installer failed to overwrite them
- partial files were left behind
- the system refused to continue
This is why you ended up with a graveyard of Sidebar folders.
4. The installer left behind incomplete Program Files entries
Once the corrupted MSI failed mid‑stream, it left:
C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar
...which is the exact folder the real GadgetPack installer checks for.
So when you later tried to install the legitimate version, it saw the leftover engine and refused to proceed.
Thanks for your consideration. HTH,
--Ed--
Contrary to the experience of the OP, I updated my installation of GadgetPack from version 39.0 to 40.0 via Home Updater on 24-Mar-2026 with no apparent issues. This was on a Dell XPS 8950 desktop with Windows 11 25H2.
[2026-03-24 13:00:30] DEBUG [GadgetPack]: Started installing 'C:\ProgramData\Patch My PC\GadgetPack-40.0.0.msi' with arguments '/qn REBOOT=ReallySuppress'.
[2026-03-24 13:00:44] DEBUG [GadgetPack]: 'C:\ProgramData\Patch My PC\GadgetPack-40.0.0.msi' installer exit code: 0 .
[2026-03-24 13:00:44] INFO Application GadgetPack has been successfully updated.
From the OP's user name, I suspect the OP is the author of the following Dec 2024 post in his blog regarding gadgetpack.net and recommending release v38.0: https://www.edtittel.com/blog/8gadgetpack-is-now-just-gadgetpack.html
I noticed the proposed replacement site (gadgetsrevised.com) includes links to xoomber.com which has a reputation as an unsafe site. The proposed site is also much less polished and detailed than the current source, gadgetpack.net (formerly 8gadgetpack.net).