[BUG] Claude Desktop (Windows) — recurring "can't open this app" crashes requiring full uninstall/reinstall, session index (Code tab "Older" list) not preserved across reinstalls

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?

Over the course of one working day, Claude Desktop on Windows crashed and became unlaunchable three separate times, each requiring a full uninstall/reinstall to recover. Windows shows a native "This app can't open" dialog with only Close/Advanced options — no error code surfaced by default.

Environment

Platform: Windows 11 (Core edition), build 10.0.26200
Claude Desktop version: 1.32885.1.0 (MSIX install, per-user)
Install method: MSIX via Squirrel bootstrapper

Steps to reproduce

Use Claude Desktop's Code tab normally (Cowork/Claude Code sessions) for an extended period (~1 hour+)
App becomes unresponsive or crashes
Attempting to relaunch triggers Windows' generic "can't open this app" dialog
In Settings → Apps → Claude, both Repair and Reset fail with "We couldn't repair/reset this app. Try again in a bit."
Terminate + retry Repair/Reset also fails
Only a full Uninstall → reinstall resolves it (fresh MSIX install succeeds)

Additional related issue — install-time failure seen along the way
During one reinstall attempt, the installer failed with:

Installation failed: AddPackage failed even after removing wedged packages: AddPackage failed with HRESULT 0x80073CF6

Log showed:

WARNING: CoworkVMService already exists (potential conflict)
WARNING: failed to remove conflicting service: could not open CoworkVMService: Access is denied.
...
Windows rejected PreserveApplicationData for Claude_x.x.x.x_x64_... (0x80073CFA, requires developer mode); retrying removal without it — app data will not be preserved

Notably, CoworkVMService did not appear via sc.exe query, Get-Service, Get-CimInstance Win32_Service, or the AppX package/provisioned-package databases — yet the installer detected it as "already exists" and hit Access Denied trying to remove it. This looks like a false-positive service-conflict detection in the installer bootstrapper. This particular install failure was resolved by running DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth + sfc /scannow + reboot, which found and repaired corrupted system files — suggesting possible interaction between Claude's install process and Windows component-store health, though this could be coincidental.

Separately — session index (Code tab sidebar) is not preserved across reinstall
Each reinstall wipes the "Older" session list in the Code tab sidebar, even though the actual transcripts remain fully intact on disk at %USERPROFILE%\.claude\projects\<encoded-path>\.jsonl. The app's own index at %APPDATA%\Claude\claude-code-sessions\<accountId>\<orgId>\local_.json gets reset/emptied, disconnecting ~1,100+ real sessions from the UI even though nothing was actually lost. There's no in-app "rescan" or "rebuild index from transcripts" option — recovery currently requires manually reconstructing card files to match the app's undocumented internal schema.

What Should Happen?

Claude Desktop shouldn't require full uninstall/reinstall to recover from a crash — Repair/Reset should work, or at minimum produce an actionable error.
The installer's service-conflict check for CoworkVMService shouldn't fire when no such service is actually registered anywhere on the system.
Reinstalling the app should not disconnect the Code tab's session list from valid, existing transcripts on disk — an index rebuild/rescan (matching sessions in .claude/projects to display cards) would prevent this entirely.

Error Messages/Logs

Additional related issue — install-time failure seen along the way
During one reinstall attempt, the installer failed with:

Installation failed: AddPackage failed even after removing wedged packages: AddPackage failed with HRESULT 0x80073CF6

Log showed:

WARNING: CoworkVMService already exists (potential conflict)
WARNING: failed to remove conflicting service: could not open CoworkVMService: Access is denied.
...
Windows rejected PreserveApplicationData for Claude_x.x.x.x_x64_... (0x80073CFA, requires developer mode); retrying removal without it — app data will not be preserved

Steps to Reproduce

Steps to reproduce

Use Claude Desktop's Code tab normally (Cowork/Claude Code sessions) for an extended period (~1 hour+)
App becomes unresponsive or crashes
Attempting to relaunch triggers Windows' generic "can't open this app" dialog
In Settings → Apps → Claude, both Repair and Reset fail with "We couldn't repair/reset this app. Try again in a bit."
Terminate + retry Repair/Reset also fails
Only a full Uninstall → reinstall resolves it (fresh MSIX install succeeds)

Claude Model

Not sure / Multiple models

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

Claude Desktop 1.32885.1 (x64, Windows)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

Pattern noticed: All three crashes occurred during or immediately after running long, multi-step skills in the Code tab — not during idle or short-session use. Suggests a resource leak or stuck process tied to sustained tool execution rather than a random fault.