If Microsoft Store will not open, hangs on "Getting things ready…", or refuses to install updates, its local cache is almost certainly corrupted. Windows ships a one-command reset for exactly this case.

Short answer: press Windows + R, type wsreset.exe, press Enter. A blank Command Prompt window opens, runs silently for ~30 seconds, then Microsoft Store launches with a clean cache.

Running wsreset.exe

  1. close Microsoft Store if it is open (via Task Manager if it is frozen)
  2. press Windows + R
  3. type wsreset.exe and press Enter
  4. a blank black Command Prompt window appears — do not close it
  5. wait 20–30 seconds until the window closes itself
  6. Microsoft Store launches automatically with a fresh cache

This clears the Store's local cache without signing you out or removing any installed apps.

If wsreset did not fix it

When the Store is deeply broken (missing entirely, error code 0x80073CF3, stuck on a white screen), a full reset is the next step.

  1. Settings > Apps > Installed apps
  2. find Microsoft Store in the list
  3. click ⋯ > Advanced options
  4. scroll to Reset and click Reset
  5. wait for the checkmark, reopen Microsoft Store

If even that fails, reinstall the Store via PowerShell:

  1. open PowerShell as administrator
  2. run Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers Microsoft.WindowsStore | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}
  3. reboot

Why the Store cache grows

Microsoft Store caches app icons, listing screenshots, and update metadata under %localappdata%\Packages\Microsoft.WindowsStore_*\LocalCache. It rarely grows past 1–2 GB, but corruption (not size) is the usual reason to reset it.

Better next routes

For removing unused pre-installed Store apps, continue with How to Free Up Space on C Drive Windows 11 Natively.

For Windows Update-specific fixes, read How to Clear the Windows Update Cache (SoftwareDistribution).