{"id":27647,"date":"2022-08-27T17:31:17","date_gmt":"2022-08-27T12:01:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=27647"},"modified":"2024-06-06T17:35:17","modified_gmt":"2024-06-06T12:05:17","slug":"cant-run-appx-appxbundle-msixbundle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/cant-run-appx-appxbundle-msixbundle\/","title":{"rendered":"Fix: Can’t Install Appx, AppxBundle, and Msixbundle Files in Windows"},"content":{"rendered":"

The file types .Appx, .AppxBundle, and .Msixbundle are app installer or setup packages. On a default Windows 10 or 11 installation, you can double-click these file types to run them. But, if the App Installer (a.k.a, “Desktop Installer”) Store app is removed from the system, the .Appx, .AppxBundle, and .Msixbundle files don’t run when double-clicked.<\/p>\n

You may see the following (“How do you want to open this file?” dialog, a.k.a. “Open With” dialog) dialog when double-clicking the said file types:<\/p>\n

\"appx,<\/p>\n

Having said that, these installer files may appear with a generic icon without a file association.<\/p>\n

Let’s see how to make the Appx installer files work when you double-click them.<\/p>\n

Resolution<\/h2>\n

Microsoft App Installer for Windows 10\/11 makes installing apps easy: Just double-click the app package, and you won’t have to run PowerShell to install apps. App Installer presents the package information, such as app name, publisher, version, display logo, and the capabilities requested by the app. Get right into the app, no hassles–and if the installation doesn’t work, the error messages were designed to help you fix the problem.<\/p>\n

Installer the Microsoft App Installer app using one of the two methods below.<\/p>\n

Method 1: Install “App Installer” from Microsoft Store<\/h3>\n

(This method installs the App Installer package for the current user only.)<\/p>\n

Download the “App Installer” offline installation package (.msixbundle) from https:\/\/aka.ms\/getwinget<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

(or)<\/p>\n

Launch Microsoft Store, search for an app named “App Installer”, and install it. Alternatively, here’s the Store app link for App Installer:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/apps.microsoft.com\/store\/detail\/app-installer\/9NBLGGH4NNS1<\/pre>\n
Visit the above link and click “Get in Store app” to download the app using Microsoft Store.<\/p>\n
\"appx,<\/p>\n
After installing the App Installer Store app, double-click an Appx, Appxbundle, or Msixbundle file. You should see the installer dialog as below:<\/p>\n
\"app<\/p>\n
If the current version or a more recent version<\/a> of the app already exists on the device, the installer will inform you. You’ll be allowed to proceed with the installation or launch the already installed version.<\/p>\n
RELATED:<\/strong> Get the Old (Windows 10) Photos App on Windows 11<\/a><\/div>\n
Note:<\/strong> If Microsoft Store itself is completely missing from your computer, you can get it back by downloading the Appx Package and installing it. For full instructions, see the article Reinstall Microsoft Store in Windows 11\/10 after uninstalling it with PowerShell<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n
\n
Method 2: Install “App Installer” for all users Using PowerShell<\/h3>\n
You can user PowerShell to download the Desktop App Installer package and install it for all user accounts on the computer. To do so, run these commands from PowerShell (admin)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
md C:\\Apps\n\nInvoke-webrequest https:\/\/github.com\/microsoft\/winget-cli\/releases\/latest\/download\/Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe.msixbundle -OutFile C:\\Apps\\DesktopAppInstaller.msixbundle\n\nAdd-ProvisionedAppPackage -online -PackagePath \"C:\\Apps\\DesktopAppInstaller.msixbundle\" -skiplicense<\/pre>\n
The above commands download the Desktop App Installer package and installs\/provisions it for all user accounts on the computer. Also, when a new user logs in for the first time, the App Installer package gets installed automatically.<\/p>\n
Note:<\/strong> The “Add-AppxPackage”<\/em> cmdlet can also be used to install the app. But it installs for the current user account only.<\/p>\n
That’s it. From now on, any .appx, .appxpackage, or .msixbundle files can be installed interactively by double-clicking on them.<\/p>\n
\nThe “App Installer” Store app shows up as Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller<\/strong><\/code> when you run the Get-AppxPackage cmdlet in PowerShell. Here’s a sample output<\/p>\n
PS C:\\Users\\Ramesh> get-appxpackage *installer*<\/pre>\n
Name              : Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller\nPublisher         : CN=Microsoft Corporation, O=Microsoft Corporation, L=Redmond, S=Washington, C=US\nArchitecture      : X64\nResourceId        : \nVersion           : 1.18.2091.0\nPackageFullName   : Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_1.18.2091.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\nInstallLocation   : C:\\Program Files\\WindowsApps\\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_1.18.2091.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\nIsFramework       : False\nPackageFamilyName : Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\nPublisherId       : 8wekyb3d8bbwe\nIsResourcePackage : False\nIsBundle          : False\nIsDevelopmentMode : False\nNonRemovable      : False\nDependencies      : {Microsoft.UI.Xaml.2.7_7.2208.15002.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe, \n                    Microsoft.VCLibs.140.00.UWPDesktop_14.0.30704.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe, \n                    Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_1.18.2091.0_neutral_split.language-ta_8wekyb3d8bbwe, \n                    Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_1.18.2091.0_neutral_split.scale-100_8wekyb3d8bbwe}\nIsPartiallyStaged : False\nSignatureKind     : Store\nStatus            : Ok\n<\/pre>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Workaround: Install Appx\/AppxPackage\/Msixbundle Packages Using PowerShell<\/h3>\n
If the “App Installer” Store app can’t be installed for some reason, you can install the .appx, .appxbundle, and .msixbundle files using PowerShell.<\/p>\n
From and PowerShell admin window, use the following syntax:<\/p>\n
Add-AppxPackage -Path \"X:\\Path\\to\\File.Appx\"<\/pre>\n
Example<\/h4>\n
Add-AppxPackage -Path\u00a0\"D:\\Appx\\Microsoft.VCLibs.140.00_14.0.30704.0_x86__8wekyb3d8bbwe.Appx\"<\/pre>\n
However, make sure that you install the dependency packages first, and then followed by the main package. For instance, the Store app depends upon the following components:<\/p>\n