Tech Forum

When I set up our new Windows 10 computers I thought it would be good to remove extraneous software, as I've posted about previously. Among those items I removed the Store application; I didn't think it would be needed for anything. But apparently it's needed to install the printer "driver" for our Xerox printers -- I guess the drivers are an app now.

So I reinstalled it, but it won't launch -- a windows flashes briefly then disappears. I've researched it and tried everything I could to no avail. It seems like it might be a rights issue, like the unit account doesn't quite have all the rights to reinstall it fully, but not sure. Should I try the built-in windows reset and start over? My understanding is that it won't remove additional software that was installed, so I assume I wouldn't need to re-image it, but not 100% sure and don't want to take chance without confirmation.

The printer actually works fine in general, but they apparently can't use the rear manual feed. We actually have a new printer as this one's been problematic and are just waiting for it to run out of toner, so this may not be worth it unless I will need the Store for other things.

Disabling the store completely will also take out the Edge browser. I don't think printing is affected, the old printer settings is still in control panel and you can add or delete drivers that way (I find the Windows 10 default printer menu to be one of the least helpful items that was updated). The church does need to implement policies that lock down the store app better. I love seeing a new clerk computer setup with candy crush and solitaire pre-installed (the next major windows 10 update will make management even worse with the "recommended" apps feature). The church version of Windows 10 is the pro version and Microsoft has taken some useful items out of the group policy that are only available in Enterprise. The church may have to move to enterprise in the future or dump windows all together (if we move to all online tools, windows isn't really needed anymore).

I wouldn't recommend uninstalling the Windows Store. The Windows Store app is nothing more than a specialized web browser, so there's no reason to remove it.

slmsz20 wrote:Disabling the store completely will also take out the Edge browser. I don't think printing is affected, the old printer settings is still in control panel and you can add or delete drivers that way (I find the Windows 10 default printer menu to be one of the least helpful items that was updated).

Hmmm, the store is gone but the Edge browser is fine. Printing itself isn't affected (basic drivers install automatically fine), but the ability to install printer apps is. I coincidentally ran into this issue again today while trying to set up the new printer. They would like to be able to print via wifi but that has to be configured using the printer app.

sbradshaw wrote:I wouldn't recommend uninstalling the Windows Store. The Windows Store app is nothing more than a specialized web browser, so there's no reason to remove it.

Yeah, I guess I didn't need to, but I didn't want them installing any unapproved software. I wonder why it's so difficult to reinstall, or why there's not another way to install software without it (assuming the vendor designed their software around the store instead of an old-fashioned self-contained installer).

Did a little more testing but still no success. I set up a new account which should have included all the default apps as delivered, and it still won't launch. This time it popped up an error saying it is specifically blocked. I never tried to launch it on any of the computers before removing it. Can everyone else launch the Store OK?