Windows 10: Windows apps not Launching

Hello,

I've had this problem for a while now and I thought the new November update to 1151 would help the situation, but I'm still having an issue.

When I try to use the start menu to open any windows app (store, photos, etc) the app won't open. I don't even get an error message or a force closed window. The apps simply won't open, and I can't even pin them to the task bar to open them there. I've tried the power shell command Microsoft suggested but the problem still persists.
My photos say "invalid value for registry" and that may have something to do with why none of my apps open.
I used Regcure to fix my registry values and I still can't open any windows app.

If anyone has any idea how to fix this I'd appreciate it, thank you

:)

 

Apps not launching

Till where sir? Repair install usually fixes these sort of issues.

 

Apps not launching

This is obviously a problem, a lot of people are having.

Why cant Microsont sort the problem out??????????????

 

Hi, just wondering what happens if you try these from a command prompt:
explorer.exe shell:appsFolder\Microsoft.Windows.Photos_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App
or
start ms-photos:

Please note that trying to fix registry issues with programs like that is high risk and not something I'd recommend.

 

I have same problem as HBK1132. I have spent all day trying various fixes with no luck. Ultimately, I have spent 3 hrs trying to get system restore working (does anything work in windows 10?). You are right dalchina re registry fixes but we feel abandoned by MS and are desperate to get things working.
It 's bad enough that programs will not load but inexcusable that there are no work-arounds to launch these "modern" apps (Please, please MS give me back the "legacy" apps). I have had no such issue with my Android apps for my phone that MS is desperately trying to copy. They just work.
Enough ranting....
I have tried the following
1. run SFC scan from power shell - no corrupted system files found
2. Re-register apps from powershell:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}
That resulted in many additional start menu items starting with "$" and started my odyssey with system restore
3. Registry fix granting read permission to "ALL APPLICATION PACKAGES" group to various keys

dalchina:
Here is what I get when I attempted to run your suggestions from cmd prompt with admin privileges:
1. explorer.exe shell:appsFolder\Microsoft.Windows.Photos_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App
This opened explorer window to "This pc > documents"

2.start ms-photos:
"Windows cannot find 'ms-photos'. Make sure you typed the name correctly and then try again."

 

I hate windows 10. Since June I already had to refresh reinstall 5 times because something gets corrupted. Last time it was my printers before that like the OP my apps got corrupted and half would not open. Even windows 8 I never had to reinstall and the excellent windows 7 I only had to do once when I got a new hard drive.

 

Hi, I can understand your frustration. It does seem that MS in its bid to create one OS to rule all (well, a lot of) devices has left us users as a testbed, the Nov upgrade method being new and problematic to quite a few.

However noted hbk1132 has not had the apps working properly prior to the Nov. upgrade. That those commands yield a strange result is not encouraging, of course.

If the power shell commands to reregister and reinstall the universal apps don't help, then
if your ONLY major issue is with the apps, you could try uninstalling them, the redownloading and installing using the store (if that's functional *092).

Otherwise I would suggest the way forward is either
a. in inplace upgrade install (keeps everything bar updates later than your installation medium)
(Instructions in the tutorial section)
or
b. a clean installation.

Note that depending on your hardware neither of these is guaranteed to solve all issues. For example, I upgraded the same laptop from Win 8 32 bits to Win 10, all drivers ok. But a clean install, 64 bits, left me finding one odd driver by more arcane means.

Once Win 10 has been running, and I have got it looking rather better, it's been stable. I use disk imaging and update periodically and only once decided to revert to a previous image when I encountered 'Some settings are managed by your organization' - a relatively common issue which changing privacy settings can cause, e.g.

Win 10 is best used as a traditional desktop in my experience, with e.g. Classic Shell's start menu. Remember to enable system restore- it's disabled by default, strangely. Ignore its start menu- it's frustrating, different, and fails to express a traditional start menu usefully.

hbk1132, renmin: did you clean install or upgrade? If you upgraded, there may be sthg from your previous installation interfering.

Note: if you want to check this thoroughly, albeit it will take time, make a disk image of your current build, and try a clean install. That way you can revert if you wish.

 

Dalchina, I purchased this computer new just over 1 month ago. The model was released end of sept and came with a clean install of windows 10 so I thought I was current. I barely had it turned on when it started a major OS update that took about 5 hrs to run. I am not sure what build that was. I was able to confirm that OneNote and Photos was working after that. I discovered OneNote, photos, phone companion (and possibly others) were not working about 3 days ago.

I have not been able to figure out how to uninstall the "modern" apps. This feature does not seem to be built in to the OS. For "classic" apps it was easy: there was either an uninstall option in start menu or you could remove it from control panel. A mere mortal could re-install an app if it became corrupted. Please advise how to uninstall a metro app. The store only gives me the option to open the app and it does not appear in add/remove programs in control panel.

I have been resisting doing a refresh as I have spent the last week installing apps, tweaking settings which included adding a missing registry entry for Visual Studio. I never had any of this drama on my Win7 LT. TFG it still works.

Thank you for your patience.

 

Hi, your confusion is quite understandable- it takes a while to get used to MS's new paradigm. Bear in mind many PCs are being sold 'with a free upgrade to Win 10' - so even more potential issues for the owner.

So:
1. In November MS released TH2 (build 1511 or 10586). This is implemented in a totally different manner to any preceding Service Packs or updates- instead, in the manner of a new Windows installation.
2. Therefore you can revert to the previous build within 30 days via Settings, Update...
You will note a Windows.old on your C: drive.
3. As you may have noted, this new style of upgrade has caused some problems for everyone, and more for a few.
4. The universal apps are not exe's - nor are they installed in the normal way. You can find Powershell instructions in the tutorials here and widely on the internet for uninstalling, installing, reregistering them.

There is little point in uninstalling any of them.. consider, any update or future upgrades like that could or will replace them. It's easiest to consider them as a package with Win 10.

Bear in mind if you simply replace the start menu with, say, Classic Shell, your life will be so much easier. (You can still launch the Win 10 menu with C. Shell running). The Win 10 menu fails to represent the folder tree of a traditional start menu correctly. Amazing, isn't it.

Repair options include downloading and reinstalling the apps supplied with Win 10 via the Store (an app available via the start menu), the power shell commands I've mentioned (see tutorials), SFC and DISM commands which are widely documented, and in-place repair install using an installation medium run from Windows in normal mode, of the same build as your Win 10.

I suggest you might want to create a boot disk or USB, just in case.

Win 10 also introduces automatic updates- of drivers as well as updates. There are limited options to control these from native Windows, with more control in Pro upwards.

There are ways (see tutorials) to implement other controls on Windows updates. These are needed if you need a particular driver version, for example.

Routine Windows updates normally cause no problems.

Note that system restore is turned off by default in Win 10. (Bad idea). There is no restore point generated for Windows updates.

If you start changing the privacy settings, as many like to, be careful and make sure you have a backup.

 

Thanks for pointing out classic shell. I was not aware of it since I steered clear of win 8. I will have a look. Shame that I have to resort to a 3rd party app since there will be one more thing to get in the way when I attempt to get support for future issues. This may be the best solution for "legacy" users like myself who have been spoiled by the likes of win 3.1/95/98/xp/win7 where I had minimal issues and could just get on with my work. Hopefully, it will not soak up more of the system resources.

WRT to windows updates, this strikes another nerve with me. As a veteran windows user, I have seen MS abuse it's position of trust with windows updates. These are now used to carry on what amounts to a work-in-progress allowing for the release of sloppy, buggy code and spending the next two years fixing it. Furthermore, these updates are becoming more intrusive, i.e. take longer to download and install not to mention the re-starts and the subsequently lengthy reconfiguration/optimization that races my CPU and disk i/o for another 20 minutes after it re-starts. MS expects that we should leave our PC's turned on 24/7. That should help curb climate change.*Biggrin

But I digress.

I will find a substitute for the onenote app. I liked it because it worked well on my android phone and I liked the notion of syncing my notes to desktop. Unfortunately, uninstalling the apps does not seem to be an option as you pointed out they are closely coupled to win 10.
"Repair options include downloading and reinstalling the apps supplied with Win 10 via the Store" - As I wrote earlier, It is not clear to me how to do that. There is no "download", "uninstall", "(re)install" option when I go to the store and locate the OneNote app there.

My system restore was turned on for the OS partition (500MB) and the restore point was 1 week old. It took 3 hrs to restore on my souped up hardware! I have never had it take close to that long on my wife's tiny netbook (win7 starter). I have purchased Acronis True Image for backup and must wait until I am back home to my NAS before I can do a backup.

Thank you for the alternatives and suggestions.

 

The big upgrades are occasional- perhaps 2 such are planned next year. Since the November upgrade there have been at least 3 small updates: the ones not requiring a restart I don't notice. I have the Pro version, so have chosen to schedule restarts, so that what I'm doing isn't interrupted.

Some view the periodic upgrade/fresh install as a way to ensure integrity. However, it's a 3.6Gb or some such download, and takes a lot of time as you say, a major disadvantage. One can only hope MS has learnt from the problems it has created for some:
- probable corruption of user profile leading to loss of what's on the desktop
- file associations changed to OS default
- system restore turned off
- new driver issues
- slow boot
etc

Uninstall and reinstall:
Apps from store:
Store My Library - Install Your Apps from in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums
Uninstall:
Apps - Uninstall in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums

With Classic Shell installed I mostly use my 'normal' desktop programs. A difference between things downloaded from the store and desktop apps is that the latter are not protected in the same way.

Classic shell has its own search box, and can be configured to expand the start menu across the screen, or like a Win 7 style menu.

Initially Win 10 was released with no window borders and all titlebars white. Appalling. Their policy over 'is there a mail client' has been 'now you see it, now you don't' - and migrated has been difficult. I now use Thunderbird (Mozilla).

I have many Win 7 icons rather than the Win 10 ones (freeware program), and coloured backgrounds for most things - including explorer- rather than glaring off-white (freeware + small reg hack). Much easier on the eyes. Others have cleverly used high contrast themes (see Customisation). Traditional theming is presently very difficult and seems a lot more restricted.

The Aerolite theme is one worth considering.