App installed via MSIX package fails to execute

Question

I have a Windows Server 2022 VM that is operated in an enterprise environment, isolated from the internet, but managed by our company. On this VM, I have problems installing MSIX packages. The Windows App Store is non-functional, so I am coping the MSIX packages to the VM manually and installing via the PowerShell cmdlet Add-AppxPackage.

For instance, when I install Windows Terminal via Add-AppxPackage -Path .\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_Win10_1.16.10261.0_8wekyb3d8bbwe.msixbundle , the install appears to succeed, however, when I start Windows Terminal, it silently fails with an event log entry Microsoft-Windows-AppModel-Runtime, Event ID 203 and the error message 0x800704CF: Cannot create the process for package Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_1.16.10261.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe because an error was encountered while preparing for activation. [LaunchProcess].

I noticed that I can unzip the package bundle and the MSIX installer package, and then successfully run WindowsTerminal.exe without installing the package.

As the error code 0x800704CF of the event log entry translates to 'The network location cannot be reached', I did a trace on the Windows DNS Client and noticed that Windows tries to connect to the following hosts (which are both not available to the VM):

slscr.update.microsoft.com
login.live.com

I can only suspect that Windows perhaps tries to obtain an activation key when I run the app.

How does activation of apps work in an enterprise environment, disconnected from the Internet, where Windows updates are managed internally? What would be the proper fix to this problem?

Answer 1

To partially answer my own question, you indeed need a license for every Windows Store app you install, no matter if free or paid. Without an internet connection, you need to provide an offline license. To do this, you require a Microsoft Store for Business account, license the app, and install it via Add-AppxProvisionedPackage using the -LicensePath option.

More information here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/publish/organizational-licensing

I still do not know whether there is a way to automate the process for offline installs in an enterprise. I would think that Microsoft provides a way that a VM disconnected from the Internet acquires the required licenses automatically from the company's internal store.

Answer 2

Has the certificate used to sign the packages been installed into the VM? And also make sure it has not expired.