Gamepass PC is a ticking time bomb that results in permanently lost HDD/SSD space unless you nuke windows

[Ra]

Happened to me with Gears Tactics; game refused to install on launch, and after a week of failed attempts I just gave up. Then one day a huge chunk of my SSD disappeared, because the game data materialized out of thin air.

Had to use CSI magic to expose and delete the files.

 

[dragn]

my issue with this shit app is that i can only download/install to one ssd and not my others ones, worked weeks before fine

 

[flyinj]

I've mentioned this before I believe, but as someone who spent the better part of a week trying to fix a couple of installs with Forza Horizon 4 and Gears 5, I can say with confidence that, yes, the Windows Store/Xbox GP app is trash. The backend is a fucking mess of restricted permissions, strange file relationships, and scattershot dependencies.

For example, "ghost" DLC add-ons can completely fuck your install. You can't get rid of them because they don't exist on your drive, but you can't reinstall them because... Windows thinks they exist on your drive. So you're stuck in this weird limbo where you can't do anything because Windows doesn't know what to do with apps/add-ons that claim they're installed on your system. This either means you have to reformat that drive or partition, or painstakingly go through the internal Windows Store database and manually remove all related entries from the table, not to mention the registry.

Oh, and by the way, Fun Fact: Windows will refuse to work properly if you don't have certain default apps installed (apps you don't need to run Windows by the way). Found that out while on this Windows Store adventure.

Anyone who says that PC Game Pass/Windows Store/Xbox app is "fine" and "it's just you, you don't know how to configure windows properly" is full of shit. Period. No other games store has this problem with letting a user manage installed software, just Windows.




You need to be extremely careful when trying to manually delete windows apps or you could fuck up any other installs in that folder.



The better solution, as Duxxy3 mentioned, is simply to have a drive or partition 100% dedicated to Windows Apps. That way you can nuke it should apps start behaving badly. It sucks, yes, and is still ridiculous, but it's better than reinstalling Windows or having to go full System Admin to fix a broken game install.

Click to shrink...

That solution doesn't work. Even if I completely nuke the partition the game was installed to, once Gamepass/Windows Store gets the 0x87E00017 error, it doesn't matter what happens to the game data. It will give that error every time you try to reinstall the game.

 

[Klaxel]

Had this problem several times. Finally figured out you can open winrar in administrator mode, navigate to the folder and delete the files from there. Can't believe they haven't fixed this yet.

 

[Spiritreaver]

I ran into something like this too. For me what happened is I had some games installed on an external drive, had to reinstall install Windows (unrelated to the games, another issue), but I could not delete the games in the that drive. I lost access to the games and folders completely. I no longer had "ownership". I had to take ownership like 10 times to delete most of the junk in there, but some folders still wouldn't delete so I just left them as it's only a few megs of data left.

 

[BasilZero]

You can take ownership of those folders to remove them yourself, no need for any additional program. Pretty in-depth info in the article below. Obviously where your WindowsApps folder might be can vary.

How To Access WindowsApps Folder In Windows 10

to In Windows 10, files of all default apps as well as apps that you installed from Store are saved under a folder called WindowsApps located in the drive

www.intowindows.com

The default on C can be c:\program files\WindowsApps

Click to shrink...

Thanks, I'll take a look at this later tonight.

 

[snausages]

Yeah gamepass for windows is terrible,not looking forward to when I decide to actually buy Flight Sim and hope that I can delete the 100gigs the GP version takes up.

What it feels like to me is they outsourced development of a simple mobile app for desktop type store, then some product owner came in and just said 'lets put xbox games on it' while the trello board was full of bugs from users trying to delete simple 100mb apps.

I wish they would put gamepass on Steam, or even Epic. Any other store than the windows one, please

 

[lampeater]

This sounds real familiar to something I ran into when Games for Windows Live was still a thing.
I had Bulletstorm installed on my Win7 machine and needed to clear up room but I ran into some error when I tried to uninstall it and couldn't do anything through the GFWL app. The uninstall option in the game folder only kicked me back to the GFWL app. I tried a repair install to try to later uninstall but no good. I think I also did the Revo Uninstaller route to get it off finally.

This is really putting me off trying out GamePass PC now if they still haven't figured this out yet.

 

[flyinj]

I recommend you uninstalling also the app and xbox related apps that appear in the list, at least it worked for me, but maybe not for you, that crappy app will find new ways to put you on your nerve.




Yes, the app is very good, i basically uninstall everything with it. I guess there may be caviats, but I haven't experienced them yet.

Click to shrink...

Revo found Yakuza Kiwami 2, 45 gigs. I used Revo to uninstall it, remove all registry entries and delete all folders associated with it.

Revo went through the whole process, Yakuza isn't on the list it shows for installed Windows Apps. However, I didn't get back 45 gigs on any of my drives.

 

[RexNovis]

Revo found Yakuza Kiwami 2, 45 gigs. I used Revo to uninstall it, remove all registry entries and delete all folders associated with it.

Revo went through the whole process, Yakuza isn't on the list it shows for installed Windows Apps. However, I didn't get back 45 gigs on any of my drives.

Click to shrink...

Try WinDirStat. Just make sure to run it as admin and it should show you where the data is and allow you to right click and permanently delete.

The WinRar method mentioned a few posts up would also work

 

[blue_phazon]

What worked for me is finding the game from the Start Menu, right-click and choose "uninstall"

Then later on you go to Settings > System > Storage > and clear out "temporary files" which ends up being the size of the game you deleted

 

[Delusibeta]

While I personally haven't ran into these issues, I do recognise that's pretty much entirely luck and that the Microsoft Store fucking up is more of a "when" than an "if". Honestly, the fact that I've blagged and bluffed my way to having a Game Pass Ultimate subscription until July 2023 plus how the Microsoft Store has been an unholy tyre fire for eight years and counting are the biggest two reasons why I'm likely to get a Series X in the new year.

 

[flyinj]

Try WinDirStat. Just make sure to run it as admin and it should show you where the data is and allow you to right click and permanently delete

Click to shrink...

How do I run that? It doesn't seem to be on my Windows 10 install anywhere

 

[RexNovis]

How do I run that? It doesn't seem to be on my Windows 10 install anywhere

Click to shrink...

You have to download it. Posted it earlier in the thread let me find it

edit: here

Get yourself WinDirStat

it gives you a breakdown of all the data on your pc and exactly where it is. It even creates a visual map of the data to show where problem areas might be.

It is a godsend. I cannot tell you how many times I have used this to find and remove hidden cache files and other unwanted garbage from computers.

Click to shrink...

 

[Kaeden]

How do I run that? It doesn't seem to be on my Windows 10 install anywhere

Click to shrink...

WinDirStat - Permalinks to downloads and other content

 

[Deleted member 9305]

How can a "software company" be so bad at this?!

 

[Mass Effect]

That solution doesn't work. Even if I completely nuke the partition the game was installed to, once Gamepass/Windows Store gets the 0x87E00017 error, it doesn't matter what happens to the game data. It will give that error every time you try to reinstall the game.

Click to shrink...

is it just Wasteland that won't install or any game? Is the drive letter the same?

 

[Kyari]

PSO2 killing itself repeatedly was definitely a pain to deal with for this reason.

 

[ChrisR]

Yeah, the issues with the games on PC is the reason I dropped my subscription. Windows Store/encrypted appx shit is awful and needs to go away. Been an issue with me from Forza Horizon 3's original launch on PC, then Crackdown, and finally Gears 5 and Wasteland 3.

If The games just installed executables from a steamlike interface I'd probably resub.

 

[BobLoblaw]

So is a fix for this just installing games on a dedicated drive? I have GP for PC, but wasn't planning on using it until after my new build later this month.

 

[Deleted member 28962]

There are ways to open permissions to these folders, but apparently doing so will definitely break even more games in the Xbox App, so doing that isn't a solution either.

Click to shrink...

I've changed the permissions on my WindowsApps folder and I have not encountered any issues.

 

[Deleted member 49535]

Windows is fucking garbage. Microsoft should really prioritize getting their shit together and fix Windows as a whole, because it's a damn shame how they make really good apps/software but then the OS itself keeps being this huge mess that ruins the entire thing.

 

[Timu]

Some games force you to use your c drive, Forza Horizons 4, for example.

Click to shrink...

Lol seriously? That is absurd, there's no reason to make you force to use that if you have other SSDs you can put it on. Isn't that a huge game on PC in file size as well?

 

[cakely]

This is why I'll never install a Windows Store PC game on my PC.

It's really sad because I'm a Game Pass Ultimate subscriber, but I still buy my games (even Crusader Kings III, Sea of Thieves) on Steam.

Also, I'm with you OP. but technically this is a Windows Store issue, not a Game Pass issue.

 

[DestroyerOfWorlds]

I don't doubt that people have had issues, but I've been running game pass PC since it launched and have never had a problem. Not everyone will run into problems like this.

 

[horkrux]

I don't understand how the Xbox/game pass app can be so bad. Especially when you consider it's a Microsoft made app running on a Microsoft made OS.

Click to shrink...

I guess they are no longer capable of developing good Windows software.

It's all bad. Windows updates are buggy since they fired all their QA staff, the store was never fixed in all these years, features like explorer tabs were tested years ago and still haven't materialized... even the fricking default image viewer app is so bad, it starts freezing up if I open it too many times lol

 

[YaBish]

The deal is great on PC but much like many people I've found it's just not worth it to install from game pass. Shit sucks.

 

[Flounder]

It is terrible. MS didn't think things through with UWP/UWA. For games, they should have just had the EXE in protected storage and everything else in "normal" folders like every other Win32 app which would have also allowed for modding etc..

Also just figuring out how much space is consumed is a pain in the arse, below you can see my Games SSD is using 500GB, the second form shows how much is used from normal launchers such as Steam, GoG etc. (422GB) yet when I look at the 3 Windows Store folders it shows just 1GB when it is actually taking up 78GB! And yes, I'm an admin showing hidden and system folders.

Utter trash.

 

[wwm0nkey]

They really just need to untie this stuff from the WinStore. messing with permissions for the WinApp folder always starts a timer for your windows registry to just get fucked up.

 

[wwm0nkey]

It is terrible. MS didn't think things through with UWP/UWA. For games, they should have just had the EXE in protected storage and everything else in "normal" folders like every other Win32 app which would have also allowed for modding etc..

Also just figuring out how much space is consumed is a pain in the arse, below you can see my Games SSD is using 500GB, the second form shows how much is used from normal launchers such as Steam, GoG etc. (422GB) yet when I look at the 3 Windows Store folders it shows just 1GB when it is actually taking up 78GB! And yes, I'm an admin showing hidden and system folders.

Utter trash.

Click to shrink...

They are moving away from UWP thankfully, but that still wont solve the issues of the WinStore.

 

[Mukrab]

And here i am with no major issues with the app on gamepass since ever, and its the platform i use the most, easily downloaded over 100 games on it and played them. Only issue i had somewhat related to this was wolfenstein downloading in a different language due to m region and i had to change region and redownload.

 

[Issen]

I remember having this issue and just nuking the whole goddamn WindowsApps folder (I think I did it under Ubuntu?) worked. It'll screw your other installed games, yes, but you can redownload them and it's less of a pain than formatting.

Haven't had these kinds of issues in a good while, however.

I certainly wouldn't pass up on Game Pass because of this.

 

[flyinj]

Wow and the fuckery gets worse:

I've had "Tell Me Why" installed since release. It now doesn't show up in the Xbox app. If I search for it in the Windows Store or Xbox app, it gives me an "install" button.

However, if I type "Tell me why" into the search bar, the app shows up, and I can run it.

It shows up in the Apps and Features list, but clicking on "uninstall" gives me an error and I can't uninstall it

 

[flyinj]

Try WinDirStat. Just make sure to run it as admin and it should show you where the data is and allow you to right click and permanently delete.

The WinRar method mentioned a few posts up would also work

Click to shrink...

I just downloaded this, ran it as admin, and none of the WindowsApp folder contents show up in it.

 

[Fordy]

Which is literally what I said in the subject of this thread.

Click to shrink...

D'oh. How did I miss that!

 

[RSTEIN]

It's not just Gamepass. Store issues within the last couple of weeks:

- Installed Valhalla yesterday. Would not launch from the EGS at all. Had to Google for a while to figure out the solution
- Launching Divinity 2 from Steam just stopped randomly working. Could only launch by going into the folder and clicking on the icon from there
- Gamepass Desktop icons never load for some reason
- Gamepass did not install the MS Flight Simulator airplanes. WTF? I had to manually install them.
- Battle.net would not launch Warzone for a while. Had to go to Blizzard.com and change online profile.

The storefronts cause me real headaches.

 

[koutoru]

Doing this will potentially break other games in Gamepass.

Click to shrink...

I've never had issues with this method of removing Gamepass game data. The other Gamepass games I played worked fine afterwords.

 

[Deleted member 87246]

The experience of GP on PC made me just buy a Series X. It was a nightmare with this sort of thing.

 

[RexNovis]

I just downloaded this, ran it as admin, and none of the WindowsApp folder contents show up in it.

Click to shrink...

??? That doesn't make any sense it catalogs every bit of data on the entire drive regardless of permissions. Is it possible your hard drive is dying?

 

[Something Creative]

Holy shit this seems rampant. Issues generally, I mean

I've had no issues so far but I've only been using Game Pass PC for just over a week so now I'm worried.

 

[Mass Effect]

I just downloaded this, ran it as admin, and none of the WindowsApp folder contents show up in it.

Click to shrink...

try TreeSize instead. That's what I used and it worked:

Find Space Hogs with TreeSize Free | JAM Software

TreeSize Free is a free disk space manager for Windows. The software shows you the sizes of folders including all subfolders.

www.jam-software.com

Some games force you to use your c drive, Forza Horizons 4, for example.

Click to shrink...

Don't think this is true. I have Forza installed on a separate partition from C.

 

[flyinj]

??? That doesn't make any sense it catalogs every bit of data on the entire drive regardless of permissions. Is it possible your hard drive is dying?

Click to shrink...

Nope, drive is fine. I have a WindowsApp folder on my C, E and G drive, and windirstat doesn't show the contents of any of them even when running it in admin.

I just tried running WinRar in admin, and it is showing the contents of the WinApps folder. Is there a way to get WinRar to sort by directory size?

 

[Zedelima]

Yep, i had reformat my entire PC because i coudn't unistall any of the games i downloaded

 

[yogurt]

Aw fuck, I just signed up for two years of GamePass PC. And, of course, I set it up on my main SSD drive.

 

[Mukrab]

Holy shit this seems rampant. Issues generally, I mean

I've had no issues so far but I've only been using Game Pass PC for just over a week so now I'm worried.

Click to shrink...

I've been using it for over a year without issues, on multiple PC's, and it has always worked for all of my friends too. Played like a hundred games on it. It could be fine.

 

[RexNovis]

Nope, drive is fine. I have a WindowsApp folder on my C, E and G drive, and windirstat doesn't show the contents of any of them even when running it in admin.

I just tried running WinRar in admin, and it is showing the contents of the WinApps folder. Is there a way to get WinRar to sort by directory size?

Click to shrink...

As far I know it's a windows OS limitation since it's using an explorer shell for that window so I don't think you can sort folders by size only files.

Sorry I have no idea why WinDirStat wouldn't be able to see those folders that is wild. I've never seen that happen. Glad the winrar method panned out at least

 

[fadedbones]

Aw fuck, I just signed up for two years of GamePass PC. And, of course, I set it up on my main SSD drive.

Click to shrink...

Same here, talk about whiplash lol. Props to the folks in here providing solutions but this sucks!

 

[Deleted member 16908]

The Windows Store works in strange and mysterious ways. I downloaded about half of Forza Horizon 4 before the download speed throttled down to 100 KB/s. I tried to pause and resume the download to see if that would get the download speed back to normal, but as soon as I paused it, it disappeared from my download list. I tried launching the game and it works perfectly. I have no idea what happened but I'm not complaining.

 

[yogurt]

You can take ownership of those folders to remove them yourself, no need for any additional program. Pretty in-depth info in the article below. Obviously where your WindowsApps folder might be can vary.

How To Access WindowsApps Folder In Windows 10

to In Windows 10, files of all default apps as well as apps that you installed from Store are saved under a folder called WindowsApps located in the drive

www.intowindows.com

The default on C can be c:\program files\WindowsApps

Click to shrink...

I didn't try deleting anything, but this worked and gave me access to the game folders.

 

[flyinj]

try TreeSize instead. That's what I used and it worked:

Find Space Hogs with TreeSize Free | JAM Software

TreeSize Free is a free disk space manager for Windows. The software shows you the sizes of folders including all subfolders.

www.jam-software.com

Don't think this is true. I have Forza installed on a separate partition from C.

Click to shrink...

WinTreeSize is showing me the WindowsApps folder.

What is going on with this "MSIXVC" folder? There are massive single files in that folder. Are those single files the entire game install for some Win App games?