Solved Cannot Re-install Copilot after Deleting Logical Drive Containing WindowsStoreApp folder

Hello,

I am having an issue with Copilot after deleting the logical drive where the WindowsStoreApp folder was located. When I tried to run the app, I received an error message. I don't know what the error number was, as I figured I'd just fix it. I tried terminating, repairing and resetting it via installed apps to no avail. After this, I decided to just uninstall the app and reinstall it. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to use the uninstall option, so I uninstalled it through Command Prompt using the "winget uninstall --id Microsoft.Copilot_8wekyb3d8bbwe" command. This removed it from my installed apps list, and it removed the Copilot icon from my Taskbar. It also removed it from items pinned to start, but it did NOT remove it when I clicked Start > All. It still shows up in the ALL-installed list, but when clicked it does nothing at all.

I went to the Windows App Store to reinstall Copilot but got an Error Code: 0x80073D0D. I have since done everything I know how to fix that error. I've ran the Windows App Store Troubleshooter (it cannot find any issues). I've reset the Windows Cache using WSReset.exe from Powershell (Administrator); I've even re-registered the Windows Store using command line: Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml" -Verbose}. Most items executed when I did this last command, but there were still many that failed (coming up in red). I don't have a list of those.

I have also executed the sfc / scannow command line (no issues found) and the DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth (which completed successfully, but didn't fix the issue). Just in case it comes up, I have more than enough space on drive C (747GB Free of 930GB Total).

At this point I'm down to reinstalling Windows, but I hate to do this considering Copilot is the only thing that isn't working properly. All my other apps are fine. Can anybody offer me alternatives that might fix this issue?

Thanks in advance.

I'm pretty clueless about Copilot, but, can you not just download it and install it???
(Just throwin it out there)

I wish it were that simple. That's the problem. Every time I try to install it (fresh install) I get an error.

Steve_Pippin said:

Every time I try to install it (fresh install) I get an error.

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Did you try downloading the exe from the Online Store, as per my screenshot?

Steve_Pippin said:

Can anybody offer me alternatives that might fix this issue?

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Steve_Pippin said:

after deleting the logical drive where the WindowsStoreApp folder was located

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Well, that will do it. Per Brinks's tutorial, If you disconnect the drive you selected to move Windows apps to, then any app moved to that drive will no longer work until the drive is connected again. This would also apply to a different partition on the same drive, if that is what you refer to as a logical drive.
Move Apps to another Drive in Windows 10

A dollar to a donut says you won't be able to install or use ANY store app. You could try a repair install, but there is a probability it may fail if the drive (or partition)where the folder is located no longer exists. Repair Install Windows 11 with an In-place Upgrade

IMO it will require a clean install.

As far as an alternative to co-pilot, if all you're interested in is usiing AI, I much prefer Chatgpt and I just use it from their website. https://chatgpt.com/

You might try disabling or uninstalling BitDefender Antivirus.

TraderGary said:

you might try disabling or uninstalling BitDefender Antivirus

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I would normally agree that bit defender could interfere with installing an app but in this case it doesn't apply since he has no folder to install any app into. According to him he sent the entire windowsapps folder bye-bye.

glasskuter said:

I would normally agree that bit defender could interfere with installing an app but in this case it doesn't apply since he has no folder to install any app into. According to him he sent the entire windowsapps folder bye-bye.

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Good point!

The really odd thing is that ONLY Copilot stopped working. I believe it's because I was able to robocopy the other apps to drive C, migrate them, and I went in and changed the registry to reflect the new drive. Since I couldn't copy Copilot for some reason (access denied), it's the only one that isn't working. The rest of my App Store apps are working fine. CRAZY! I'll probably just do a clean windows install. I have all my data on a different drive, so I'll only lose the program apps and after a clean install I'll be able to reinstall everything. You live, you learn!

Well, Glaasskuter was right. I tried everything. This morning, I just did a clean installation of Windows and reinstalled all my apps. It was a pain, but I'm back to where I was before being a dunce! Thanks for the comments, all.