06/07/2015 How to Troubleshoot If Windows 8.1 Apps Won't Open or Install

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How to Troubleshoot If Windows 8.1 Apps Won’t Open orInstall

The Windows 8.1 upgrade (http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/windows-8-1-done-unspectacular-august-update/) created several issues

(http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-issues-windows-8-1-can-fixed/) for many users, myself included.

One problem was Windows Apps becoming unresponsive (http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/fix-unresponsive-native-apps-updating-

windows-8-1/), not opening or not even installing. This included PC Settings and the Windows App Store. Users have reported various

symptoms, but the most common was the app “flashing” open and then immediately closing. The app remained “open”, but would never

load past the initial “flash screen”. Some have even reported error messages saying the app can’t open.

The following are the steps I took to solve my problem. Some helped while others didn’t. They are listed in the recommended troubleshooting

order, starting from very basic to slightly more complicated and in depth. The idea is that you won’t have to do all of these steps, but that

one or some of the initial troubleshooting tips will solve your problem sooner. Good luck!

Step 1: Download and Run Microsoft’s Apps Troubleshooter(http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/what-troubleshoot-problems-app)Microsoft has provided a tool to fix various issues with the Windows Store and Apps alike. Click the title of this section for more information

and to download it by clicking Apps troubleshooter in the text.

Written by Aaron CouchMay 20, 2015

(http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/author/acouch/)

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Once it’s downloaded, run it and follow the instructions, pressing Next to continue through the troubleshooter. In the next window, click

Reset and open Windows Store.

Once complete, it will display the results of what it attempted to fix and what it couldn’t fix. You can view the details by clicking the blue View

detailed information link and save it for later reference.

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Step 2: Clear and Reset Windows Store CacheIf the App Troubleshooter didn’t do the trick, the next step is clearing and resetting the Windows Store Cache. Tab or click the Start

button and type WSreset. Right-click it and choose Run as administrator.

It should then launch the Windows Store and allow browsing. Now try downloading a new app or opening an existing app.

Step 3: Test for Corrupted “Package Repository”Now we have to dig a little deeper. Think of this process like “file surgery”. Go to C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\AppRepository.

You’ll be notified you don’t have permission to access the folder and files.

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This process can be a hassle, but we’ve previously covered how to take ownership of files (http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/what-is-

trustedinstaller-and-why-does-it-keep-me-from-renaming-files/). There are several sections to that article, so scroll down to the section titled

“Taking Ownership of Files”. Additionally, you can also refer to Microsoft’s instructions on how to do this (https://technet.microsoft.com/en-

us/library/cc753659.aspx).

Once you have completed this step, a box will pop up letting you know you’ve taken ownership of the folder and to close and reopen it. Just

paste the previously mentioned folder directory in a Windows Explorer address bar.

Now the surgery begins. You will want to delete all files containing “edb” in the name. These are associated with the Package

Repository file. I found a fast way to find these files scattered throughout the folder is to click the Type field, and most if not all of the files

you need to delete will be at the top. Just to be safe, though, scroll through the rest of the folder to make sure you didn’t miss one. Here are

the files you want to look for:

Reboot your computer and Windows will automatically recreate the files you deleted, except they won’t be corrupted. For many, this is the

step that will do the trick.

PackageRepository.edb

edb.chk

edbtmp

edb.jrs or edb.log (edbXXXXX.log and edbXXXXX.jrs files)

edb.txt and edbXXXXX.txt

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Step 4: Run this Command PromptAt this point, you may have some apps working, such as the system apps, like PC Settings, but other apps still aren’t opening. Go to Start

and type “cmd” and run it with administrator privileges by right clicking and choosing Run as administrator.

You can then copy the following command and paste it into the command prompt window (right click > paste).

powershell ‐ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted Add‐AppxPackage ‐DisableDevelopmentMode ‐Register $Env:SystemRoot\ImmersiveControlPanel\AppxManifest

Once it has finished, try opening the apps that weren’t previously working. You don’t even need to restart your computer for the changes to

take effect.

Step 5: Run System File Checker / Replace Corrupted FilesDarn! It’s still not working… I feel your pain. This step can only work for some if you have access to non-corrupted system files from

another PC running the same operating system. I, unfortunately, did not, so I can’t vouch for this step personally, but others have found

it to solve the problem after completing the steps.

1. Open Command Prompt with administrator privileges (as shown previously)

2. Type sfc /scannow

This scan will take some time, but afterward you will get a message telling you if any system files are corrupted or damaged.

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If there are still corrupted files, despite all previous steps, you can start down the path of fixing them. To view the details of the System File

Checker process and find the corrupted file, type the following in the command prompt:

findstr /c:"[SR]" %windir%\Logs\CBS\CBS.log >"%userprofile%\Desktop\sfcdetails.txt"

This will create a log file on your desktop called Sfcdetails.txt.

Below is an example of the log file format from my results:

2015‐05‐08 11:25:04, Info CSI 0000090d [SR] Could not reproject corrupted file [ml:520{260},l:114{57}]"\??\C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Diagnosis\DownloadedSettings"

In my case, there were several corrupted files, all of which needed to be replaced. The steps to do this are illustrated well on the Microsoft

website (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/929833/en-us). Scroll down the page and find the link in the article that says “manually

replace the corrupted file with a known good copy of the file.” This will open and take you directly to a “minimized section” of the article.

Step 6: Create a New User Account

If nothing else works, your last resort is creating a new user account (http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/fix-windows-issues-creating-new-user-

account/), which I recently shared how to properly go about doing. It’s a big pain, but it will get your apps on the new account working

properly.

What Worked for You?This is only one of the many issues to emerge after upgrading to Windows 8.1 (http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-windows-8-1-upgrade-

issues-how-to-fix-them/), but hopefully you never experienced multiple problems simultaneously.

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Did you have this problem too and solved it yourself? Which one of these steps worked for you? I researched this issue thoroughly

and couldn’t find any other solutions, but if you discovered a solution not mentioned in this article, please share it in the comments below for

everyone else to learn from!

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