Groove App Won't Open

[CraigCole]

Hello!

I’ve been wrestling with a vexing issue for the last few days and hopefully one of you experts on this forum can help correct it. It’s not a huge deal, but it is very annoying.

Out of nowhere, the Groove Music app refuses to open on my SP4. I launch it, a window pops up per usual, then about two seconds later it disappears. There’s no warning message or dialog box; the app just refuses to work. None of the other programs or apps on the system are having issues.

In an effort to fix this, the first thing I did was run SFC scan, which found some corrupt files that could not be repaired. OK, maybe that’s the issue. Next, I booted into safe mode and ran the SFC scan again in hopes that it would work properly, but the result was the same.

After this, I reset the app, though this did nothing. Next, I uninstalled Groove through PowerShell and then reinstalled it from the Marketplace, but no luck there, either. It still won’t launch.

Next, I ran DISM, which repaired the corrupt files found by the SFC scan, but once again Groove wouldn’t launch.

Finally, I reset the app AGAIN after the DISM can, then I uninstalled and reinstalled a second time but neither of these actions did anything. At this point I’m completely out of ideas. Help!

- Craig

 

[spicypadthai]

Have you tried a different user account on the SP4? If not, then create a new user with admin permissions and try it under that login. Over the years I've seen local profiles cause problems with apps. Yes, including Store/UWP apps - just to prempt someone chiming in with "it's not a Win32 app and shouldn't be affected" :wink:

 

[CraigCole]

Have you tried a different user account on the SP4? If not, then create a new user with admin permissions and try it under that login. Over the years I've seen local profiles cause problems with apps. Yes, including Store/UWP apps - just to prempt someone chiming in with "it's not a Win32 app and shouldn't be affected" :wink:

Thanks for the speedy suggestion! I made another account and, unfortunately, it's doing exactly the same thing. I should have mentioned this in my initial post, but if I try to play a specific file it kicks back "File System Error (-2147219196)." I'm puzzled...

 

[spicypadthai]

Maybe try to re-enable services as someone suggests in this MS forum post

 

[Jim Tosh]

Hey Craig,

I've been having the EXACT same problem and have tried all the same solutions. No luck here either. Your post is the only recent one I have found with this problem, and the only one that is completely identical to mine. I am starting to wonder if it's a Windows Update issue. I am on an HP Pavilion desktop running Version 1803 Build 17134.285. I first noticed the issue this past Sunday, Sept 9, though admittedly the problem could have been going on for some time before that. Recent updates include KB4456655, KB4457146, KB4457128, KB4343902 and KB4343909. The only other idea I have, and it's a long shot, is that I recently installed QuickBooks on my machine and that they could be conflicting somehow.

Feel free to compare notes on your current version/build/updates. Please keep me posted if you find anything!

Jim

 

[CraigCole]

Hey Craig,

I've been having the EXACT same problem and have tried all the same solutions. No luck here either. Your post is the only recent one I have found with this problem, and the only one that is completely identical to mine. I am starting to wonder if it's a Windows Update issue. I am on an HP Pavilion desktop running Version 1803 Build 17134.285. I first noticed the issue this past Sunday, Sept 9, though admittedly the problem could have been going on for some time before that. Recent updates include KB4456655, KB4457146, KB4457128, KB4343902 and KB4343909. The only other idea I have, and it's a long shot, is that I recently installed QuickBooks on my machine and that they could be conflicting somehow.

Feel free to compare notes on your current version/build/updates. Please keep me posted if you find anything!

Jim

Jim,

I'm sorry to hear you're facing the same issue I am, though I'm also glad I'm not the only one! Looks like I'm on the same version of Windows 10 but I've never installed, much less used, QuickBooks.

After doing more research, I wonder if this has something to do with permissions, an area of Windows I literally know nothing about.



Something appears corrupted under my user account name in the WindowsApps folder. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to delete an "access control point."

 

[Jim Tosh]

Hey Craig,

I tried messing around with permission settings for a while to no avail. While working on that I discovered another app that was behaving the same way - closing after 2 seconds of start-up screen. In frustration, I ultimately just Reset Windows. I had been having a few other problems anyways and figured a fresh install might be a good idea. I did the most basic Reset, with the option to keep my files and settings intact. Only took me a couple hours to reinstall Windows, then download all programs/apps that got erased. It did the trick for the problem with Groove Music as well as fixed the other issues I was having. If your system isn't too complicated to set back up after a reset you might want to consider doing the same yourself.

All the best!
Jim

 

[CraigCole]

Hey Craig,

I tried messing around with permission settings for a while to no avail. While working on that I discovered another app that was behaving the same way - closing after 2 seconds of start-up screen. In frustration, I ultimately just Reset Windows. I had been having a few other problems anyways and figured a fresh install might be a good idea. I did the most basic Reset, with the option to keep my files and settings intact. Only took me a couple hours to reinstall Windows, then download all programs/apps that got erased. It did the trick for the problem with Groove Music as well as fixed the other issues I was having. If your system isn't too complicated to set back up after a reset you might want to consider doing the same yourself.

All the best!
Jim

Good news! I've managed to correct the issue without resetting my SP4. See the top post on page No. 6 of this thread or follow the attached image: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...47219196/4fc0d0e4-064a-4be4-bf55-cc24afe78155

Basically, I think there was an issue with the permissions of the WindowsApps folder (C:\Program Files\WindowsApps). I took ownership of that folder, deleted everything related to Zune Music, which is masquerading as Groove these days and then reinstalled from the marketplace. I found the Video Editor app wouldn't launch as well and did basically the same thing, deleting the corresponding folders and reinstalling from the marketplace. All seems good now...