[BUG] Windows install fails with 0x80073D28 + permanent Servicing deadlock — registry key missing, neither Admin nor SYSTEM can recover

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?

[BUG] Windows install fails with 0x80073D28 + permanent Servicing deadlock — registry key missing, neither Admin nor SYSTEM can recover

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues
• [x] This is a single bug report
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Desktop

Environment

• OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro
• Version: 10.0.26200
• Build: 26200
• Architecture: x64
• Claude Desktop version: 1.4758.0.0 (MSIX)
• Machine type: Personal PC, not domain-joined
• Antivirus: None (Windows Defender only)
• PowerShell: 5.1.26100.8115

What's Wrong?

Claude Desktop installer fails with HRESULT 0x80073D28 ("administrator privileges required to install package services"), and the existing package is permanently stuck in Status: Servicing / Staged state. The package cannot be removed or reinstalled by any standard or elevated means, including SYSTEM-level access via PsExec.

Current package state

Name                   : Claude
Publisher              : CN="Anthropic, PBC", O="Anthropic, PBC", ...
Version                : 1.4758.0.0
PackageFullName        : Claude_1.4758.0.0_x64__pzs8sxrjxfjjc
InstallLocation        : C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Claude_1.4758.0.0_x64__pzs8sxrjxfjjc
PackageUserInformation : {S-1-5-18 [S-1-5-18]: Staged}
SignatureKind          : Developer    ← unexpected; package is signed by Anthropic, PBC
Status                 : Servicing

The SignatureKind: Developer value is suspicious — the package signature itself validates correctly as published by CN="Anthropic, PBC" (confirmed by AppxPackaging Event ID 157), so this likely indicates corrupted package metadata in the AppRepository.

Failure pattern across privilege levels

Each privilege level fails differently, creating a true deadlock that no single privilege level can resolve:

| Privilege | Operation | Error | Message |
|-----------|-----------|-------|---------|
| Standard Admin (IsInRole = True) | Add-AppxPackage (force flags) | 0x80073D28 | "package services require administrator privileges" |
| SYSTEM (PsExec -s -i) | Add-AppxPackage -Register | 0x80073CF9 | "cannot be performed with the local system account" |
| Standard Admin / SYSTEM | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers | (silent success, no effect) | DeStage reports completed in <1s but package persists |
| Standard Admin | DISM /online /remove-package | 0x80070057 | Wrong cmdlet for AppX (expected) |

The Admin and SYSTEM errors are mutually exclusive: Admin lacks "package service" privileges, SYSTEM cannot perform user-scoped registration. There is no privilege level under which both operations succeed.

Event log evidence

Most recent failed deployment (ActivityId: 694a7d4b-d56b-000c-01a1-4c696bd5dc01):

Event ID 9621: Claude_1.4758.0.0_x64__pzs8sxrjxfjjc(0,0): 오류 0x80073D28: 
  Claude_1.4758.0.0_x64__pzs8sxrjxfjjc 패키지를 등록할 수 없습니다. 
  패키지 서비스를 설치하려면 관리자 권한이 필요합니다.
  
Event ID 605: 오류 0x80073D28: Approved 상태 처리기에서 오류가 발생했습니다.

Event ID 404: Claude_1.4758.0.0_x64__pzs8sxrjxfjjc 패키지에 대한 AppX 배포 작업이 
  0x80073D28 오류로 인해 실패했습니다.

The failure occurs in the "Approved 상태 처리기" (Approved state handler) — the stage where MSIX-bundled Windows services are registered. This is consistent across all install attempts.

From an earlier failed deployment, a critical Event ID 801 was logged:

Event ID 801, Level: Error
"0x80070002 오류로 인해 Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Appx\AppxAllUserStore\
Applications\Claude_1.4758.0.0_x64__pzs8sxrjxfjjc 레지스트리 키를 열지 못했습니다."

Translation: "Failed to open registry key ... due to error 0x80070002 (FILE_NOT_FOUND)"

The registry key that should describe this package is missing, but the package files (C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Claude_..._pzs8sxrjxfjjc) and the Get-AppxPackage metadata still exist. This explains why every DeStage operation reports completion in ~600ms with no actual effect — Windows has no work item entry to act on. The deployment server thinks the work is done; the package state thinks the work was never started.

ClaudeSetup.log relevant excerpt

Standard install (not split-account), using AddPackage
Installing via AddPackage (current-user)...
MSIX installation failed: AddPackage failed: AddPackage failed with HRESULT 0x80073D28
ERROR dialog (opening log): Installation failed: AddPackage failed: 
  AddPackage failed with HRESULT 0x80073D28

Note: the installer's pre-removal step does not detect the existing Servicing-state package, so it proceeds straight to AddPackage which then fails.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Have Claude Desktop installed on Windows 11 (likely auto-updated to 1.4758.0.0)
2. Package enters Status: Servicing with the registry key missing (root cause unknown — possibly during a routine update or background servicing operation)
3. Run installer from claude.ai/download → fails with 0x80073D28
4. All subsequent removal attempts silently succeed but leave package intact

Steps Attempted (all failed)

• Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *claude* | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers — silent no-op
• Remove-AppxPackage -Package "Claude_..." -AllUsers -Verbose — silent no-op
• Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online — package not provisioned (file not found)
• DISM /online /remove-package — 0x80070057 (wrong tool, expected)
• Restart-Service AppXSvc, ClipSVC, StateRepository + retry — no effect
• Full reboot — no effect, Servicing persists
• Add-AppxPackage -ForceApplicationShutdown -ForceUpdateFromAnyVersion (with cached MSIX from %TEMP%) — 0x80073D28
• Add-AppxPackage -Register on existing AppxManifest.xml (as SYSTEM) — 0x80073CF9 ("cannot use SYSTEM for this")
• PsExec -s -i SYSTEM PowerShell for all removal/registration variants above — same results
• Safe Mode (Minimal) — AppXSvc is not enabled in SafeBoot, so AppX cmdlets fail entirely

CoworkVMService does not exist on this system (sc.exe stop/delete returns ERROR 1060), so the issue is not service-handle ACL related (unlike #51132).

Same pattern as

• #47877
• #51132
• #49917

This makes at least four independent reports of the identical deadlock pattern. The shared signature is:

1. Status: Servicing that cannot be cleared
2. Missing AppxAllUserStore\Applications\<package> registry key (Event 801, 0x80070002)
3. Remove-AppxPackage silently no-ops with reported success
4. Both Admin (0x80073D28) and SYSTEM (0x80073CF9) blocked by complementary errors
5. Affects users without unusual configuration (no AV, not domain-joined, no GPO)

What Should Happen?

Either:

1. The installer should detect and recover from this corrupted state automatically, or
2. Anthropic should publish a recovery utility / documented procedure to clear the stuck registration, or
3. An EXE-based installer should be offered as a fallback that does not depend on the MSIX deployment subsystem

Logs

• ClaudeSetup.log (attached)
• claude_appx_log.txt — Get-AppPackageLog -ActivityID 694a7d4b-d56b-000c-01a1-4c696bd5dc01 output (attached)

Workarounds NOT yet attempted (to preserve the corrupted state for diagnosis)

• Manual registry restoration of AppxAllUserStore\Applications\<package> key
• New Windows user account (expected to work but does not solve the deadlock on the original profile)
• System Restore
• PC Reset

Additional Information

The user encountered this state without performing any unusual actions — no manual MSIX manipulation, no developer mode, no sideloading tools, no third-party AV interference. Once entered, no documented Windows tooling can recover the system. Given the multiple identical reports (#47877, #51132, #49917), this appears to be a class of bug specifically triggered by Claude Desktop's update or background-servicing flow under specific conditions.

Claude Model

N/A (installation issue)

Platform

Windows

Operating System

Windows 11 Pro, Build 26200, x64

What Should Happen?

Claude Desktop should install successfully on a clean or previously-installed system. When an existing package is in a corrupted state (Status: Servicing with missing registry keys), the installer should either:

1. Detect the corrupted state and automatically recover (e.g., by force-cleaning the AppxAllUserStore registry entries and the WindowsApps folder before retrying AddPackage), or
2. Surface a clear error message identifying the specific corruption and provide a documented recovery procedure or utility, or
3. Offer a fallback non-MSIX installer (traditional EXE/Squirrel-based) that does not depend on the MSIX deployment subsystem.

Currently, the installer silently proceeds to AddPackage without detecting the existing broken state, fails with a misleading "administrator privileges required" error (privileges are not actually the issue), and leaves the user with no recovery path.

Error Messages/Logs

Installer dialog:
  Installation failed: AddPackage failed: AddPackage failed with HRESULT 0x80073D28
  Please share this log with us.
  The log file will be opened in Explorer.

PowerShell (Add-AppxPackage):
  배포에 실패했습니다. HRESULT: 0x80073D28, 관리자 권한이 필요하기 때문에 패키지를 설치하지 못했습니다.
  Claude_1.4758.0.0_x64__pzs8sxrjxfjjc(0,0): 오류 0x80073D28: 
    Claude_1.4758.0.0_x64__pzs8sxrjxfjjc 패키지를 등록할 수 없습니다. 
    패키지 서비스를 설치하려면 관리자 권한이 필요합니다.

PowerShell as SYSTEM (Add-AppxPackage -Register):
  배포에 실패했습니다. HRESULT: 0x80073CF9, 설치하지 못했습니다. 
  소프트웨어 공급업체에 문의하세요.
  배포 Register 작업이 Claude_1.4758.0.0_x64__pzs8sxrjxfjjc 패키지에서 설치 요청을 거절했습니다.
  로컬 시스템 계정으로는 이 작업을 수행할 수 없기 때문입니다.

Event Viewer (Microsoft-Windows-AppXDeployment-Server/Operational):
  Event ID 801: 0x80070002 오류로 인해 Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Appx\
    AppxAllUserStore\Applications\Claude_1.4758.0.0_x64__pzs8sxrjxfjjc 
    레지스트리 키를 열지 못했습니다.
  Event ID 9621: 오류 0x80073D28: 패키지를 등록할 수 없습니다. 
    패키지 서비스를 설치하려면 관리자 권한이 필요합니다.
  Event ID 605: 오류 0x80073D28: Approved 상태 처리기에서 오류가 발생했습니다.
  Event ID 404: AppX 배포 작업이 0x80073D28 오류로 인해 실패했습니다.

See attached ClaudeSetup.log and claude_appx_log.txt for full traces.

Steps to Reproduce

Unknown — this is the first time installing Claude Desktop on this machine,
or the issue arose during a routine background update of an existing installation
(exact moment of state corruption is unclear).

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

N/A

Claude Code Version

1.4758.0.0 (Claude Desktop / MSIX)

Platform

Other

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

PowerShell

Additional Information

_No response_