Windows 10: How to reset WindowsApps folder permissions in order for Windows 10 programs to work like new

I changed permissions on the WindowsApps folder many times and now Windows 10 programs do not work. I have searched all the internet search engines and I need a method to restore WindowsApps like new without a full restore on Windows 10. Ideally I need most of the files to stay the same. I am familiar with permissions and ICACLS and TAKEOWN commands but I need a standard operating procedure to fix WindowsApps so all programs work again without restoring windows to the very beginning and wiping the hard drive. Thanks

:)

 

Permission/Ownership Issues WindowsApps Folders...

I have been tearing what little hair I have left out of my head trying to copy a file from my desktop to the appropriate folder in the Kodi folder buried in the XBMC… folder in Windowsapps in a brand-new fairly high-end laptop running Windows 10 Pro. I cannot get beyond first what appears to be a UAC “Destination Folder Access Denied” error message saying “You’ll need to provide administrative permission to copy to this folder.” If I click on the UAC “continue” button I get another “Destination Folder Access Denied” error box saying “You need permission to perform this action.” The second error box has only “Try Again” and “Cancel” buttons. Nothing is listed under “More details” in either error box.

Here is most of what I have tried:

1. changing ownership of Windowsapps and all folders below it to my Microsoft account user and granting full-control permissions to Windowsapps and all folders below it;
2. changing ownership to administrators group for Windowsapps and all folders below it and granting full-control permissions to Windowsapps and all folders below it;
3. enabling the “hidden” administrator account, going back to my Microsoft user account and granting full-control rights to the administrator account, returning to the administrator account, taking control with that account, granting full control permission to Windowsapps and all folders below it;
4. creating a new administrator account and repeating 3;
5. completely disabling UAC through the registry, once in the default administrator account and once in my Microsoft account user.
6. adding and using the “Take Ownership” context option on a Windowsapps folder as described in the Tutorial at Add Take Ownership to Context Menu in Windows 10 ; and
7. running the following commands in an administrator command window:

Code:

as suggested at: Permission/Ownership Issues WindowsApps Folders... - Windows 10 Forums
In fact, even if I do an explicit copy from an administrator command window, I get an “access is denied” notice.

None of the many sources I have looked at online are of any help in dealing with this blockage. Please help — not only do I need to get full-control access to Windowsapps and its subfolders for this purpose, I also need to get full-control permission to Windowsapps folders in order to get rid of an annoying McAffee startup.exe which pops an error box on every boot up even though I removed McAffee in the normal way.

How can I get assured access to Windowsapps folders???

 

permissions in c:/program files/ windowsapps/ have changed

Hi Josu

I am Dave, an Independent Advisor, I will help you with this . . .

Did you change the permissions on the WindowsApps folder, that is the most protected folder on a Windows 10 system and changing those permissions usually bricks all UWP apps in Windows 10

Click your Start Button, then just type cmd

From the resulting list, right click Command Prompt and choose 'Run as Administrator'

Paste this command into Command Prompt and press Enter:

icacls "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps" /reset /t /c /q

Wait for that command to complete, then restart (not shut down) your PC

If that command did not reset the permissions on that folder, then to be honest, resetting Windows 10 will be your only option . . .

 

WindowsApps folder says permissions are corrupted and need to be deleted, is this normal or critical?

According to your description, I suggest you try the following steps:

1. Navigate to the location C:\Program Files.
   
2. Right-click on the WindowsApps folder, and select Properties.
   
3. Turn to Security tab and click on Advanced.
   
4. Click on Change and then type Users in Enter the object name to select area.
   
5. Click on OK, then click Apply > OK. You can also add the TrustedInstaller to the users list and check if it takes effect.
   

However, you might be still not able to access the files. The workaround is to go inside the C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\, and repeat the same way with the Microsoft.WindowsStore* folders.