Windows 11 Sandbox does not open File Explorer after a Windows update

Anonymous
2023-10-16T22:33:15+00:00

Hi all,

I have Windows 11 Pro with Sandbox enabled, it worked flawlessly. I didn't use it for a few months, and now the File Explorer inside the Sandbox is crashing.

If I open it from the start menu, or if I press the right button on the desktop or on a file or directory, it turns the screen black for a second or two, and then doesn't do anything (it probably crashes).

This behavior happens only inside the Sandbox (my system is working properly), and I didn't install or remove anything from the system, just did the proposed Windows updates (I now have version 10.2.22621 build 22621).

I can use the command line, and it appears that the file system is intact, I can create, read and write directories and files.

Sandbox is a limited environment, and everything I tried to understand what was going wrong failed. I tried several times to remove the sandbox and perform a clean installation, even manually deleting the image files, but that behavior didn't change.

Do you have any suggestion?

Thank you

Duccio

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Performance and system failures

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Anonymous
2023-11-06T19:15:28+00:00

It is ultimately just a workaround, but it works for me:
Create a text file that you rename to sandbox.wsb afterwards.
The content of the file must contain the following:

<Configuration>
<MappedFolders>
<MappedFolder>
<HostFolder>C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.WindowsAppRuntime.CBS_8wekyb3d8bbwe</HostFolder>
<SandboxFolder>C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.WindowsAppRuntime.CBS_8wekyb3d8bbwe</SandboxFolder>
<ReadOnly>true</ReadOnly>
</MappedFolder>
</MappedFolders>
</Configuration>

If I start the sandbox with this file, the Explorer also works.

Good luck

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-11-06T18:54:53+00:00

    I found the following instructions in another forum to solve the problem:

    *copy the folder C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.WindowsAppRuntime.CBS_8wekyb3d8bbwe to your Windows Sandbox's Desktop. In the Sandbox, run PowerShell as Administrator. In the PowerShell window, exec the following commands: powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass sc.exe config "TrustedInstaller" start=demand Install-Module -Name NtObjectManager Start-Service -Name TrustedInstaller $parent = Get-NtProcess -ServiceName TrustedInstaller $proc = New-Win32Process powershell.exe -CreationFlags NewConsole -ParentProcess $parent These commands will install the NtObjectManager module to start a new PowerShell window as a TrustedInstaller. So, in the new PowerShell window, exec the following commands: mv C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.WindowsAppRuntime.CBS_8wekyb3d8bbwe C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.WindowsAppRuntime.CBS_8wekyb3d8bbwe_bak mv C:\Users\WDAGUtilityAccount\Desktop\Microsoft.WindowsAppRuntime.CBS_8wekyb3d8bbwe C:\Windows\SystemApps*

    I haven't dared to try it yet because I don't know exactly what is happening with my host system

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-11-06T19:35:32+00:00

    Dietmar,

    Great stuff. The sandbox.wsb file actually works!

    Thanks,

    Alan

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-11-06T19:49:29+00:00

    Wow... it works pretty good. Then it's just matter of time that Microsoft get fixed in next updates. Thanks for the answers, greetings from México.

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-11-07T03:50:37+00:00

    THX, it works fine :-)

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