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BhevesY's avatar
BhevesY
Iron Contributor
Dec 11, 2025

Did a Windows repair install fully fix my WindowsApps permission issue?

Hey everyone im on the newest Windows 11 version which I tunk should be 25H2,
I’m trying to figure out whether a Windows repair install actually fixes the permissions on the C:\Program Files\WindowsApps folder.

Long story short:
I previously changed ownership of the WindowsApps folder so I could access a file path. I later switched the ownership back, but even after restoring permissions I could still open the folder using the direct path. In File Explorer it was hidden, but I could still access everything if I typed the exact location. I also tried resetting permissions with icacls, enabling inheritance, etc., but kept running into Access denied errors. I also ran some similar command I found online because I was desperate to get it back into its original state.

Then I tried a repair install, the folder disappeared again in File Explorer and is listed as SHR when I check attributes, but I’m not fully sure whether the security settings are truly back to the default state, or whether there's still something misconfigured in the background.

Has anyone dealt with something similar? Does a Windows repair install actually restore the WindowsApps folder permissions to stock defaults, or do I still need to manually fix something?

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