[BUG] Claude Desktop fails to launch on Windows 11 Home 25H2 Build 26200.8039 — CoworkVMService crash, no chat-only fallback

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Claude Desktop fails to launch on Windows 11 Home 25H2 Build 26200.8039. Every launch attempt results in the error dialog: "We are sorry, Claude Desktop failed to launch. Please check for updates and try again. If the issue persists, contact support."

What Should Happen?

Claude Desktop should launch and display the main chat interface.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

1. Download Claude Desktop installer from https://claude.com/download
2. Run installer (with and without admin elevation — both attempted)
3. Launch Claude Desktop from Start menu
4. Error dialog appears immediately: "Claude Desktop failed to launch"

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

26200.8039

Platform

Other

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

Warp

Additional Information

Troubleshooting Already Attempted

• Full uninstall + deletion of %APPDATA%\Claude and %LOCALAPPDATA%\AnthropicClaude
• Deletion of %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Claude_pzs8sxrjxfjjc
• Manual reinstall from fresh download
• Installation of Windows App Runtime 1.6
• Attempted Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -FeatureName Containers — fails with "Feature name Containers is unknown" (not available on Windows 11 Home)

Root Cause (suspected)

Based on related issues (#25194, #25829, #37443), the root cause appears to be:

1. CoworkVMService gets locked after the first install and cannot be removed even with full admin rights on Windows 11 Home
2. MSIX AddPackage is timing out / failing on build 26200.8039 (regression introduced around March 22, 2026 per #37443)
3. Windows 11 Home does not have Hyper-V / Containers features, which CoworkVMService depends on — crashing the entire app instead of falling back to chat-only mode

System Information

• OS: Windows 11 Home
• Version: 25H2
• OS Build: 26200.8039
• Installed on: 8/21/2025
• Experience Pack: Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.300.0