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Store-installed UWP apps (Photos, Copilot) won’t launch despite full system repair

J-L Walnier 40 Reputation points
2025-10-15T12:17:27.26+00:00

Subject: UWP apps (Photos, Copilot Store) fail to launch despite full Windows reinstallation

Issue description: On two separate PCs (desktop and laptop), the Photos app fails to launch. I recently discovered that Copilot installed via the Microsoft Store behaves identically: the app does not open. However, Copilot works fine via Edge. This issue persists regardless of the user account (local, Microsoft, newly created test account).

Tests already performed:

  • Resetting Photos and Copilot via Settings > Apps
  • Full Windows 10 reinstallation via in-place upgrade using official ISO
  • Creation of fresh local and Microsoft accounts (tested on both machines)
  • Deactivation and reactivation of Microsoft account sync
  • Verification of UWP-related services (AppXSVC, WpnService, etc.)
  • Re-registration of UWP packages via PowerShell: Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}
  • Event Viewer analysis (AppModel-Runtime): recurring UWP launch errors

Additional observations:

  • Calculator (UWP) works fine, suggesting the core UWP runtime is functional
  • Apps like Photos and Copilot Store, which are installed or updated via the Microsoft Store, fail to launch
  • This points to a possible corruption or misconfiguration of Store-related UWP dependencies

Conclusion:

  • The issue appears to affect Store-distributed UWP apps only
  • It persists after full system repair, across multiple machines and accounts
  • Likely cause: deep corruption of UWP runtime or Store integration, not resolved by standard tools

Request:

  • Advanced analysis of UWP runtime and Store dependencies
  • Potential availability of deeper repair tools beyond DISM/SFC
  • Confirmation of known bug or upcoming fix Subject: UWP apps (Photos, Copilot Store) fail to launch despite full Windows reinstallation Issue description: On two separate PCs (desktop and laptop), the Photos app fails to launch. I recently discovered that Copilot installed via the Microsoft Store behaves identically: the app does not open. However, Copilot works fine via Edge. This issue persists regardless of the user account (local, Microsoft, newly created test account). Tests already performed:
    • Resetting Photos and Copilot via Settings > Apps
    • Full Windows 10 reinstallation via in-place upgrade using official ISO
    • Creation of fresh local and Microsoft accounts (tested on both machines)
    • Deactivation and reactivation of Microsoft account sync
    • Verification of UWP-related services (AppXSVC, WpnService, etc.)
    • Re-registration of UWP packages via PowerShell: Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}
  • Event Viewer analysis (AppModel-Runtime): recurring UWP launch errors

Additional observations:

  • Calculator (UWP) works fine, suggesting the core UWP runtime is functional
  • Apps like Photos and Copilot Store, which are installed or updated via the Microsoft Store, fail to launch
  • This points to a possible corruption or misconfiguration of Store-related UWP dependencies

Conclusion:

  • The issue appears to affect Store-distributed UWP apps only
  • It persists after full system repair, across multiple machines and accounts
  • Likely cause: deep corruption of UWP runtime or Store integration, not resolved by standard tools

Request:

  • Advanced analysis of UWP runtime and Store dependencies
  • Potential availability of deeper repair tools beyond DISM/SFC
  • Confirmation of known bug or upcoming fix
Windows for home | Windows 10 | Apps
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Answer accepted by question author

Anonymous
2025-10-16T14:00:13.8566667+00:00

Hi, thanks for the detailed update, it really helps clarify where things stand. From what you’ve shared, it looks like the system is doing its job setting up the app container and launching the process, but something is quietly failing during the app’s startup. This kind of silent failure is actually a known issue with certain versions of the Windows App SDK, especially around version 1.7, where Store-installed apps like Photos and Copilot can fail to initialize properly even though everything else seems fine. Since your system already has the latest updates and runtimes, the next step I’d recommend is to completely remove all existing Windows App Runtime packages using PowerShell with the command Get-AppxPackage WindowsAppRuntime -AllUsers | Remove-AppxPackage, then reinstall the latest version using winget install --id=Microsoft.WindowsAppRuntime -e. After that, restart your PC and try launching the apps again. Just to help us dig a bit deeper, do other Store apps like Clipchamp or Paint show the same behavior?

Also, if you can, check for any crash-related files under C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\AppRepository\StateRepository-Machine.srd or in the app’s local temp folder, as those might give us more clues about what’s going wrong.

Let me know how it goes and we’ll take it from there.

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Answer accepted by question author

Anonymous
2025-10-15T15:14:06.41+00:00

Hi, I understand how inconvenient it is when essential apps like Photos and Copilot don’t launch, especially after you've already gone through a full system reinstall. I’ve looked into this thoroughly, and it turns out the issue is tied to a recent bug in the Windows App SDK that affects Store-distributed UWP apps. Built-in apps like Calculator still work because they rely on different runtime components, but apps updated or installed via the Store, like Photos and Copilot, are impacted by this SDK-level problem.

To get started, I recommend checking for and installing the optional update KB5046714 via Windows Update, which includes a fix for this SDK issue. After that, go to Settings then go to Apps, search for Windows App Runtime Singleton, and try both the Repair and Reset options. You can also reinstall the latest Visual C++ Redistributables from Microsoft’s site to ensure runtime dependencies are intact.

If the issue persists, I’d like to ask: have you noticed this behavior immediately after reinstalling Windows, or did it start after a specific update or app install? Also, are you seeing any error codes or messages in Event Viewer under AppModel-Runtime?

Let me know what you find, and I’ll guide you through the next steps.

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  1. J-L Walnier 40 Reputation points
    2025-10-17T10:21:42.5866667+00:00

    Update of Oct 17 2025, 12:00 local time.

    Thanks again for your earlier suggestions. I’ve now completed a full round of system-level diagnostics and repairs. Here’s a detailed update:

    ✅ System context

    • Windows 10 Pro 22H2, build 19045.6456
    • Fully updated via Windows Update
    • Photos and Copilot Store still fail to launch
    • Other Store apps like Clipchamp and Paint work normally

    🛠 Actions taken since last post

    1. Uninstalled all WindowsAppRuntime packages : powershell : Get-AppxPackage WindowsAppRuntime -AllUsers | Remove-AppxPackage
    2. Reinstalled latest version (1.8.2) via: powershell : winget install --id=Microsoft.WindowsAppRuntime.1.8 -e
    3. Re-registered Photos and Copilot packages: powershell :

    Get-AppxPackage -Name Microsoft.Windows.Photos | ForEach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

    Get-AppxPackage -Name Microsoft.Copilot | ForEach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

    → Both commands completed without error

    1. Ran full system repair: : powershell :
      DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
      sfc /scannow

    → SFC reported corrupted files and successfully repaired them

    1. Rebooted and tested again → no change

    📋 Event Viewer (AppModel-Runtime)

    Each launch attempt for Photos or Copilot logs the same 4 events:

    • 210 – Container created
    • 211 – Process added to container
    • 201 – Process created
    • 217 – Container destroyed

    → No error codes or warnings. No additional events. The apps fail silently after launch.

    🔍 Additional observations

    • When searching for “Photos” or “Copilot” in the Start menu search bar, the apps appear with the IrfanView icon (which I customized). → Their icons appear normal in the Start menu tiles → I cleared the icon cache and rebuilt the search index — no change
    • Attempting to launch via PowerShell:

    explorer.exe shell:AppsFolder\Microsoft.Windows.Photos_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App
    explorer.exe shell:AppsFolder\Microsoft.Copilot_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App

    → No visible effect, no error message

    Let me know if you’d like me to test anything else or extract logs. Thanks again for your support — I’m happy to dig deeper if needed.

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  2. J-L Walnier 40 Reputation points
    2025-10-16T08:47:28.1366667+00:00

    Follow-up Summary: UWP Apps Still Not Launching After Full Remediation

    Thank you for the previous suggestions. I’ve now completed all recommended steps, but unfortunately the issue persists. Here’s a summary of what I’ve done:

    ✅ System Status

    • Windows 10 Pro, version 22H2, build 19045.6456
    • System fully updated via Windows Update
    • Issue affects Photos and Copilot Store (both fail to launch)
    • Calculator and other built-in UWP apps work normally

    🛠 Actions Taken

    1. Installed all pending updates, including cumulative and optional ones
    2. Attempted to install KB5046714 manually via .msu — rejected with message: “The update is not applicable to your computer” → Likely already integrated into current build
    3. Verified presence of Windows App Runtime via PowerShell
      • Multiple versions detected: 1.2 to 1.7
      1. Re-registered all WindowsAppRuntime packages using:

    powershell

    Get-AppxPackage -Name Microsoft.WindowsAppRuntime | ForEach-Object {

        Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"

    }

    1. Installed latest Visual C++ Redistributables (x64 and x86)
    2. Restarted system and tested apps again → still no launch

    ❗️Current Status

    Despite a fully updated system and repaired runtimes, Photos and Copilot Store still fail to launch. This suggests a deeper issue with runtime bindings or app registration, possibly tied to how Store-distributed UWP apps interact with the Windows App SDK.

    📋 Event Viewer Findings (AppModel-Runtime)

    Following your suggestion, I launched the Photos app and immediately refreshed the Event Viewer under AppModel-Runtime → Admin. Here are the entries generated during the launch attempt:

    🕒 Timestamp: 2025-10-25 10:35:03

    Event ID 210 – Created Desktop AppX container Event ID 211 – Added process 8368 to container Event ID 201 – Created process 8368 for Photos app Event ID 217 – Destroyed container for Photos app

    🕒 Timestamp: 2025-10-25 10:34:57

    Event ID 201 – Created process 15056 for Office.ActionsServer

    🧠 Interpretation

    • The system successfully creates and destroys the AppX container for Photos
    • The process is launched, but no error code or failure event is logged in AppModel-Runtime
    • This suggests the failure occurs after container setup, possibly during runtime binding or app initialization

    🙏 Request

    • Is there a way to force reinstallation or reinitialization of the Windows App SDK runtimes?
    • Could this be a known regression in the 1.7 SDK line?
    • Any diagnostic tools or logs I should collect to help pinpoint the failure?

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  3. Mateusz Rusnak 0 Reputation points
    2025-10-15T18:32:59.5266667+00:00

    Phone link app is also affected by this. I have those three aps stopped working at the same time and I found reddit threads reporting this also: https://www.reddit.com/r/WindowsHelp/comments/1nmo1h4/phone_link_copilot_and_microsoft_photos_not/

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