How to fix Windows 8 apps that won’t install or update from the Store

Slowly but surely people are finally adopting the new Windows 8 user interface, which brings the traditional desktop and mobile functionalities under the same roof.

One problem I’ve been noticing is that many users are starting to have problems installing and/or updating Windows 8 apps, some are getting the message “This app wasn’t installed — View details” trying to update Microsoft’s Xbox Music and Video app, and others are seeing the error code 0x800700b7 trying to install Skype, just to name a few examples.

This isn’t a good user experience and while there could be many factors that can cause these errors, you can try some troubleshooting steps to remedy these problems. Below I’ll be detailing a set of instructions that can help you fix those Windows 8/8.1 apps that won’t install or update:

Instructions

Before going forward, try using this Microsoft Fix it — basically scans a Windows 8 for issues and repairs problems in your Microsoft Account –. If that doesn’t fix the problem, proceed with the steps below.

1. Disable the Windows Update service: Use the  +R keyboard shortcut to bring the Run command, type services.msc /s, find Windows Update, double-click it, click Disabled, then Apply and OK.

2. Open the Run command again, type C:\Windows, and click OK, find and rename the SoftwareDistribution folder to SoftwareDistributionHold.

3. Re-enable the Windows Update service.

4. Finally, try to update or install the Windows 8 app with the problem.

Furthermore, I previously wrote a how-to guide to troubleshoot Windows Store apps that it can definitely help if the instructions above don’t work. This particular tutorial has two solutions that involve resetting the Windows Store and using the App troubleshooter from Microsoft.