Windows 10: Can't open any apps under the WindowsApps folder with an error "The Parameter is Incorrect"

So I've seen this problem happening with others as well and it seems to be a Permissions issue. None of the solutions on this site or others have worked. I have already tried repairing the installation with an in-place upgrade. The owner of the folder is still TrustedInstaller and both TrustedInstaller and SYSTEM have Full Control access as shown in the screenshot belowThe only thing different is the Users entry seems to be corrupt as it states that I have read perms to the folder but It also says I don'tI've also tried using "icacls "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps" /q /c /t /reset" to reset the

:)

 

The parameter is incorrect error

I started receiving the following error yesterday and not sure why or how to fix it.

C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.MicrosoftOfficeHub_18.1910.1283.0_x64_Bw...\LocalBridge.exe

The Parameter is Incorrect.

 

All Windows Store apps report "The parameter is incorrect"

It all began when I was trying to get Firefox to open a downloaded Word .doc file. Firefox absolutely refused to realize that I had Word installed. So I did what I usually do when Firefox is obstinate about opening a file; I tried to locate Winword.exe and manually associate it with .doc files. Except I couldn't find Winword.exe anywhere.

I finally found it in a folder I had never seen before, "C:\Program Files\Windowsapps". The problem was that the folder was hidden and had some very strange permissions on it. So I took ownership of the folder and all subfolders and gave myself full control. That was a mistake.

Now when I open *any* Windows Store/Metro app I get the message "The parameter is incorrect". How can I repair the permissions on "C:\ProgramFiles\WIndowsapps"? I've already given ownership back to "TrustedInstaller", but I'm still getting "The parameter is incorrect." I also tried "sfc /scannow" but that didn't help.

BTW, all "classic" desktop apps work fine and Windows boots without any issue. But Office365 is totally hosed...

 

parameter is incorrect

Thanks for the suggestion, but no Excel installed (nor any plan to). Not sure how or if that would handle all subfolders, or how long the process would take, but I don't use Excel for anything, and can't see installing a bulky Office app on the system. The
other downside I think *may* exist, would be that I'd have to either export all the data to a file, else use Excel each time a search is required.

Looks like maybe I can use a batch job to build a list of all folders and subfolders, then independently list the files of interest within each folder into a single file. That should eliminate whatever causes the odd "parameter is incorrect" error.

Thanks again for your responses. I appreciate your time.