In Windows 11/10/8.1/8, the built-in apps enjoy the new Modern UWP GUI. These apps belong to an essential category, which a user needs in many instances, such as News, Weather, Mail, etc. Today, I upgraded my PC and when I tried to open the built-in UWP apps, they kept crashing. I tried to reinstall the apps, but it didn’t help me either. I was just unable to repair the Windows Store apps!
I tried the recent fixes and others mentioned in the above link to solve this issue, which includes:
- Running Windows App Troubleshooter
- Re-registering PC Settings, Windows Store
- Installed all the pending Windows Updates
I ran the PowerShell command in Windows PowerShell and then tried again to reinstall:
ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted Get-AppxPackage -Allusers | Remove-AppxPackage
I also deleted this registry key for the problematic profile:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Appx\AppxAllUserStore\[UserSid]
The fixes we’ve listed above were aggressive steps to solve the issue. Unfortunately, nothing helped us. Finally, we came around to this TechNet thread which enabled us to fix the issue. Here is how to fix this problem:
Can’t Reinstall or Repair Built-in Windows Store Apps
1. Press Windows Key + R combination, type Regedt32.exe in the Run dialog box, and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
2. In the left pane, highlight the HKEY_USERS, and from the File menu, select Load Hive.
3. In the following window, go to the problematic username (C:\Users\USER NAME), type File name as ntuser.dat, and click Open.
4. For the Key Name, type the exact username of the previous step. Click OK. It will load the hive, and a subkey (HKEY_USERS\USER NAME) of the same username will be added to the HKEY_USERS key.
5. For this new subkey (HKEY_USERS\USER NAME), go to the following location:
Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\DeviceAccess
Right-click on the DeviceAccess key and select Permissions.
6. For the Permissions window, you’ll find that Full Control is unchecked, so check it and click Apply followed by OK.
7. When you’re done, select the subkey created in step 4, i.e., HKEY_USERS\USER NAME. From the File menu, choose Unload Hive.
8. Finally, confirm here:
So we’re done with the fix. Now you have to close Registry Editor and reboot the system. The issue must be completely fixed.
That’s it!
How do I fix a corrupted Windows Store?
The best way to fix a corrupted or not working Windows Store is by resetting it. Go to Windows Settings > Apps & features > Apps > Windows Store and use the Reset button. You will have to sign in again using the Microsoft account. Another way is to use DISM or SFC command, which can fix any corrupted file on Windows PC.
