Introduction:
Recently, I encountered a perplexing issue on my laptop – the Windows calculator would briefly appear and then disappear. Determined to find a solution, I decided to tackle the problem head-on.
In this blog post, I’ll share my steps to resolve the issue and regain access to the Windows calculator.
The Problem: DLLs and Windows Store App Failure
Upon investigation using Process monitor, I discovered that the calculator was unable to load DLLs from the “C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.WindowsCalculator_10.1608.2213.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe” location.
Internet research suggested reinstalling the calculator through the Windows Store App. However, even the Windows Store App was not functioning correctly!
The Solution: Reinstalling Windows Store App
To reinstall the Windows Store application, I used a PowerShell command:
Get-AppXPackage WindowsStore -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}Encountering Error Codes 0x80073CF9 & 0x80070002:
During reinstallation, I encountered two error codes: 0x80073CF9 and 0x80070002.
To retrieve the corresponding error message, I used the command “winrm helpmsg ERROR_CODE“.
The error message indicated a missing file, and it suggested using the command “Get-AppxLog -ActivityID 9535eb18-6e56-0000-8304-3695566ed201” for more details.
Identifying the Missing User SID
The setup log revealed an error message related to the registry key “Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Appx\AppxAllUserStore\S-1-5-21-705754729-2888756721-3051348587-1047“.
This error indicated a missing user SID in the registry. To determine which user the SID corresponded to, I used the command:
wmic useraccount get sid,name
Resolving The Issue
At this point, two options were available:
1/ Installing the Windows Store for the current user only using the PowerShell command:
Get-AppXPackage WindowsStore| Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}(without -Allusers parameter).
2/ Adding the missing registry key and running the PowerShell setup command for all computer users.
I opted for the second option to install the Windows Store for all user accounts.
Following these steps, I successfully installed the Calculator from the Windows Store.
Conclusion
Through careful troubleshooting, including diagnosing missing DLLs, encountering errors during Windows Store App reinstallation, and identifying a missing user SID in the registry, I resolved the disappearing Windows calculator issue.
Remember that persistence and understanding system intricacies can help you overcome various Windows-related problems.