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How the Problem Started
It all began with an anomaly in Windows Terminal: it would open but wouldn’t respond to clicks. After some initial fixes, Terminal temporarily worked, but PowerShell kept running in administrator mode with no way to change this setting.
Things got worse after I used the “Reset” feature - Terminal stopped working entirely. In retrospect, this reset probably damaged some system components or registry information.
What I Tried
Conventional Uninstallation
I started with the simplest approach: uninstall and reinstall. But it wasn’t that straightforward:
- Microsoft Store showed error code: 0x80073cfa
- PowerShell uninstallation commands failed
- All conventional uninstallation methods were ineffective
Manual File Cleanup
When conventional methods failed, I attempted manual cleanup:
- It took considerable effort to gain access to the WindowsApps directory
- Tried takeown and icacls commands
- Discovered multiple versions of Terminal folders in the system
- But these files were locked by the system, and even tools like Huorong couldn’t force delete them
System-Level Repairs
Then I tried some system-level solutions:
- PowerShell package management commands
- DISM and SFC system repair commands
- Restarting various related services But none of these methods solved the problem.
A New Attempt
On January 30, 2024, I tried another approach:
-
Attempted to install Windows Terminal (version 1.21.3231) using Chocolatey GUI
-
But encountered this error:
ERROR: Cannot convert the "System.Object[]" value of type "System.Object[]" to type "System.Version"
This path was also a dead end.
The Final Solution
After all these failed attempts, I decided to change my approach:
Instead of continuing to fix the original Terminal, I switched to using the Preview version:
- Downloaded the msixbundle directly from GitHub
- Installation was smooth and it runs perfectly
- Most importantly, it’s completely independent of the original Terminal
Some Useful Configurations
In the newly installed Terminal Preview, I added some useful configurations. For example, this focus mode shortcut:
{
"command": { "action": "toggleFocusMode" },
"keys": "ctrl+enter"
}
Pressing Ctrl + Enter toggles the tab bar visibility, which is quite convenient.
Lessons Learned
This experience gave me new insights about Microsoft Store:
- System components are really hard to control once they break
- Complete cleanup is almost impossible
- Store package dependencies are quite complex
Based on this experience, here are my recommendations:
- For important development tools, prefer downloading directly from official websites or GitHub
- While Microsoft Store is convenient, it’s not always the best choice
- Be cautious with system “Reset” features
Remaining Issues
To be honest, the problem isn’t completely resolved. The original Terminal files are still in the system:
These folders remain in C:\Program Files\WindowsApps:
- Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_1.21.2911.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe
- Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_1.21.3231.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe
- Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_3001.21.2911.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe
- Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_3001.21.3231.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe
It seems only a system update or reinstallation will completely clean these up. However, the Preview version works well enough that these residual files don’t affect daily use.
Important File Locations
Windows Terminal configuration file location:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.WindowsTerminalPreview_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\settings.json