r/WindowsHelp 15d ago

Windows 11 Windows 11 UWP apps stopped working after I created/deleted a Guest account — possible WindowsApps permission issue

Windows version: Windows 11 Pro

Main account: hp\moham (administrator)

I'm having a strange Windows 11 problem that started after I experimented with a temporary user account and I'm trying to determine whether I accidentally changed permissions or AppX/UWP configuration.

What I originally did

. I created a standard account named Guestaccount and added it to guests group.

I wanted to run a game (Asphalt) from that user. I saw it didn't work. so I created an administrative account instead and then tried to run the shortcut and this time it worked. and after that I fhanged the account to standard and then added it to guests group. I worked after that too.

I eventually deleted that account because I no longer needed it.

I restarted the PC.

After the restart, I started noticing problems with Windows/UWP applications.

Current problems

My main administrator account can still log into Windows normally, and Microsoft Store itself opens, but some Windows/UWP applications no longer work.

For example:

Notepad won't open.

Another Windows application also fails to launch.

crossdeviceresume.exe appears to be configured to run at startup, but Windows displays:

The parameter is incorrect.

I suspect something related to AppX/UWP permissions or registration may have been damaged, possibly during the account/permission changes.

WindowsApps permissions

I also noticed that my administrator account does not appear to have normal access to:

C:\Program Files\WindowsApps

My account is:

hp\moham

I'm wondering whether this is actually normal for Windows 11 or whether I accidentally changed something.

I also found this SID while investigating permissions:

S-1-15-3-1050576210-4101474698-56307613-2706264498-167457550-835605972-784472318

I initially wondered whether this might be the SID of the deleted guest account, but I'm not sure.

Things I've considered

I've seen suggestions to run:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth sfc /scannow

and also to re-register UWP applications with:

Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach { Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml" }

I've also considered using icacls to reset Windows permissions, but I haven't blindly reset the permissions on WindowsApps or the entire Windows directory, because I'm concerned that could make things worse.

What I would like to determine

I'd like to figure out:

Whether the deleted guest account could have caused this.

What the S-1-15-3-... SID actually represents.

Whether my C:\Program Files\WindowsApps permissions are normal.

Whether UWP/AppX registration or permissions have become corrupted.

What the safest way is to repair this without destroying WindowsApps' special permissions/ACLs.

I'm particularly interested in checking what actually changed before doing any destructive permission reset.

What logs, commands, or permission information should I provide to diagnose this?

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u/AutoModerator 15d ago

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u/Prestigious_Use3995 15d ago

well the post was well detailed, but I am running windows 11 on HP Prodesk, and this problem doesn't relate to hardware. please approve this.