Windows Store sometimes crashes while trying to open it

Windows Store sometimes crashes while trying to open it.
It never gets passed the splash screen



Below is what I’ve already tried

• Windows Apps Troubleshooter
• chkdsk and dism
• Upgrading to the newest version of Windows Store
• Reinstalling Windows Store using the Powershell command below

Code:

Get-AppXPackage *WindowsStore* -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

Here's the source for that powershell command

I’m using Windows 10 21H2. It happens on both Windows Defender Antivirus and Comodo Internet Security

desbest said:

Windows Store sometimes crashes while trying to open it.
It never gets passed the splash screen

Below is what I’ve already tried
Windows Apps Troubleshooter
chkdsk and dism
Upgrading to the newest version of Windows Store
Reinstalling Windows Store using the Powershwll command below

Code:

Get-AppXPackage *WindowsStore* -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

I’m using Windows 10 21H2
It happens on both Windows Defender Antivirus and Comodo Internet Security

Microsoft store crashed upon open attempt - YouTube

I’m on my phone, I’ll update the formatting later.

If Comodo has a firewall, you need to allow...

C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.WindowsStore_12011.1001.1.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\WinStore.App.exe

I then used Comodo to whitelist these in the firewall so they'd always be approved for accessing the internet. As the version numbers were different, the folder names were also different.

• C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.StorePurchaseApp_12109.1001.10.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\StoreExperienceHost. exe
• C:\Windows\ImmersiveControlPanel\SystemSettings.exe
• C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.WindowsStore_22202.1402.0.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\WinStore.App.exe

It is important that these tasks are completed in the correct order, otherwise you'll have to do it again.

#1 Grant the current user the permissions to access the WindowsApps folder

When trying to whitelist or allow the above files in my firewall, I was given an error that I wasn't allowed to access the folder as I didn't have the right permissions. So then I tried to grant myself the correct permissions.









Just right click the folder WindowsApps then click properties then open the security tab.

I then used the settings tab to try to give myself the relevant permissions needed to access this folder.

Something strange appeared in the security tab.



It should not say that. It should instead show a list with several checkboxes in rows and columns underneath another list from another box. So obviously my current principle (or user-space in linux terminology) is unable to read this folder.

After clicking the "advanced" button, I then got this window to appear. It said that I (or my current principle) don't have read permissions for this folder. I then clicked the continue button.



Below is what I saw.



I then clicked the view button but made sure that the "users" principal was selected beforehand.

I then saw an error that the access control entry was corrupt.



I deleted it and created a new one with the correct permissions. The correct permissions should look like the image below. Remember that you want "users" to be able to read and execute files in the WindowsApps folder but not to be given writing permissions. And you want these to apply recursively towards the current folder, subfolders and its files.



Windows at first won't let you modify the permissions to delete then add in again, for the entry on the "users" principal. The way to get around that is to change the owner of TrustedInstaller to the current user, then change it back to TrustedInstaller.

In case you're wondering what to type in the text box to know how to set the owner back to TrustedInstaller a good tutorial is here.

How to restore TrustedInstaller as owner for system files on Windows 10

Once done RESTART YOUR COMPUTER

#2 Reinstall the built in UWP Windows Apps (with the Metro/Fluent interface)

The Cortana folder does not exist in Windows 10 21H2 onwards but you should still do step 4 anyway.

1. Press Windows Key + X and select ‘Command prompt (Admin)’ or ‘Windows Powershell (Admin)’. Below is what both windows look like.
   
   
   
   
   
2. Once that loads up, enter the following command (replace {USERNAME} with your system’s username).
   
   Code:

   RD /S /Q “C:\Users\{USERNAME}\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy\RoamingState”

3. Now, open up Windows Powershell as administrator if you used the command prompt to enter the above-mentioned command.
4. Once Windows Powershell loads up, enter the following command:
   
   Code:

   Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers |Where-Object {$_.InstallLocation -like “*SystemApps*”} | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}

If any packages are currently in use then just ignore it.

Here's the source.

RESTART YOUR COMPUTER to implement the changes.

#3 Windows Search Troubleshooter

You are going to want to run the Windows Search troubleshooter.


To find the troubleshooters, search for troubleshoot on the start menu and click the troubleshoot settings option. This can also be found in the system category of windows settings.



At the bottom of the new window that appears, scroll down to the bottom and click additional troubleshooters. There you'll find the relevant troubleshooters to run.



The Windows Search troubleshooter then said it had fixed an error.



4 Turn on Memory Integrity in Windows Security

The instructions to do so are here.


#5 Disable unwanted startup programs

Using Autoruns disable startup items you think should not be running and yellow coloured ones if their file is not found. In particular under these tabs

• Logon
• Scheduled Tasks
• Explorer
• Office
• Image Hijacks
• Services
• Drivers

However do not disable the ones beginning with an _underscore in Known DLL's from c:\windows as they are supposed to be there.



In my instance, that was

• Winmerge (the faulty one)
• CPU-Z
• Firefox Default Browser Agent
• Amazon Music Helper

The faulty one was Winmerge. Uninstalling that made the crashes happen less often. Well if Windows 10 is 64 bit and Windows was 64 bit from Windows 7, any software still giving 32 bit shell extensions that's being released today, is likely to have shoddy coding and performance.



#6 Disable Unnecessary and Faulty Explorer Shell Extensions

A good tutorial is here.

Download a copy of ShellExView then open it.

Then go to the Options menu and choose "hide all microsoft extensions".



Below is what I see after doing so.



Below are the Shell Extensions that I've recently disabled

• Microsoft Edge PDF Preview (because I use the shell extension for Foxit PDF Reader instead)
• Winmerge

You might also be interested in another software called Shell MenuView.

Results
Completing these 6 tasks (in the correct order) really helped to partially and in most instances, fix the problem.

It is a partial fix that has made the crash stop happening significantly less. Not just with Microsoft Store but also with Windows Settings and other UWP/Metro/Fluent apps. By the way, Microsoft renamed Metro to Fluent after another company threatened to sue them for violating their trademark, even though it was in a different trade category.

Also it inadvertently fixed another problem I was having with Windows, where it would take between 3-6 minutes for the icons on the desktop and start menu to load after entering my windows password. Now that waiting time has gone down to 60-90 seconds. The forum thread for that problem is here.

Maybe I'll be able to provide a complete fix later on one day but for now, 75-80% of those crashes are now gone. Also my computer is much faster. It takes much quicker to load Firefox than it did before. The time spent debugging this was 8 hours.

@desbest

Yes, you would still have to give yourself access to the WindowsApps folder. I assumed you could do that.
I'm lazy though. I used Winaero Tweaker to just add "Take Ownership" to my right click menus.

Another very useful tool is the In-Place Upgrade. In short it repairs Windows while leaving all your programs and data, untouched. Takes about 40 minutes total.

Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade