How to fix "Package Failed updates, dependency or conflict validation" error in Windows?

"Package failed updates, dependency or conflict validation" is Windows error 0x80073CF3: an app package could not be installed, updated or started because a package it depends on is missing or too old, or because another copy is in the way. When it appears as you open a picture, the Photos app is the package that fails. Update every app in Microsoft Store first, then repair or reinstall that app.

Facts checked on 13 October 2026. Steps written for Windows 11 (25H2 and 26H2) and Windows 10 22H2.

What "Package failed updates, dependency or conflict validation" means

The sentence is the text that Windows stores for system error 15603, named ERROR_INSTALL_RESOLVE_DEPENDENCY_FAILED. Written as an HRESULT, the same error is 0x80073CF3. Apps from Microsoft Store and built-in apps such as Photos and Notepad are app packages, and Windows checks every package before it installs, updates or registers it.

Microsoft's developer documentation gives three possible causes for this code:

• Conflict: the incoming package conflicts with an installed package.
• Dependency: a package dependency that the app names cannot be found.
• Architecture: the package does not support the correct processor architecture.

HRESULT

0x80073CF3 (people also type 0x80073cf3 and 0X80073CF3)

Win32 error

15603, in hexadecimal 0x3CF3

Name

ERROR_INSTALL_RESOLVE_DEPENDENCY_FAILED

Text in Windows

Package failed updates, dependency or conflict validation.

Text in Microsoft's table

The package failed update, dependency, or conflict validation.

How to read the rest of the 0x80073CF3 message

The first sentence never changes, so it tells you nothing about your case. The lines after it say which check failed and name the package. In PowerShell they follow straight away. Microsoft Store and the file dialog hide them, and you get them from the log described under "If the error is still there".

Why Windows shows this error: the causes, ranked

Most often a framework package is missing or out of date, because the Store apps on the PC were never updated together. Less often another copy of the app blocks the new one. Rarely the reason is the architecture of the package or a fault on Microsoft's side.

The framework packages that the message names

A framework package holds shared code that many apps use. An app lists each one in its manifest as a PackageDependency with a name and a MinVersion. Microsoft's rule is short: the installed version of the dependency must be greater than or equal to that minimum.

To see which frameworks your account has, open Windows PowerShell and run the command below. Compare the names and versions with the ones in the message.

List the installed framework packages

Get-AppxPackage -PackageTypeFilter Framework | Select-Object Name, Version, Architecture

Which apps show the error, and what to do if you need the file now

• OneDrive: we found no Microsoft page that ties this message to OneDrive itself. If the file sits in a OneDrive folder, test it with Open with as described above.
• GeForce NOW and other apps not listed here: we could not confirm a cause that is specific to them. The log names the package that failed, and that name decides the fix.

How to fix Package failed updates, dependency or conflict validation (0x80073CF3)

Fixes 1 and 2 solve the dialog that appears when a file will not open. Fixes 3 to 5 act on what the rest of the message names: a framework, a conflicting copy or an architecture. Fix 6 resets the Store's side for the installs that still fail.

Fix 1. Update Microsoft Store and every app in it

10 minutesNo riskA file will not open, the PC or virtual machine is newly set up, or Store updates have been off for a while.

Framework packages reach your PC through Microsoft Store, and Microsoft says Windows moves to the newest version of a framework as it is released. One full round of Store updates brings the app and the frameworks it depends on to versions that match.

1. Select Start and open Microsoft Store. Sign in with a Microsoft account if the Store asks for it.
2. Select Library, then Get updates.
3. Wait until every update in the list is installed. Framework packages are updated in the same run, so do not stop after the app that failed.
4. Select Start > Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates and install what Windows offers.
5. Restart the PC.
6. Open the file or start the install again.

• Windows 10: in Microsoft Store select See more > Downloads and updates > Get updates.
• Different label: one of Microsoft's help pages names the Store button Check for Updates. It starts the same update run.
• Microsoft Store is missing: Microsoft's help page offers the Store as a download at apps.microsoft.com/detail/9wzdncrfjbmp. A user in the VMware Fusion community reports that wsreset.exe -i in an administrator Command Prompt installed the Store. We could not confirm that switch in Microsoft's documentation.

This is the fix that users of new Windows 11 ARM virtual machines report. One Parallels Desktop user writes that Notepad showed the message on a fresh install until all Store app updates were downloaded. A VMware Fusion user reports the same for a new text file.

Fix 2. Repair, reset or reinstall the app that fails

5 to 10 minutesLow riskOne app, for example Photos or Notepad, shows the dialog while other apps work.

The dialog comes from the package of the app that opens the file. Repair and Reset rebuild that one app without a download. A reinstall from Microsoft Store fetches the current package together with the dependencies it declares.

1. Press Win + I and open Apps > Installed apps.
2. Find the app. For pictures it is Microsoft Photos: type Photos in the search box of the list.
3. Select the three dots next to the app and select Advanced options.
4. Select Repair, then open the file again.
5. If the dialog returns, select Reset on the same page and confirm.
6. If Reset does not help, go back to the list, select the three dots and Uninstall.
7. Open Microsoft Store, select Library, find the app and select Install.

If Settings offers no Uninstall for Photos: Windows PowerShell, your own account

Get-AppxPackage *Microsoft.Windows.Photos* | Remove-AppxPackage

The command comes from an answer on Microsoft Q&A and removes Photos for your account only. Install it again from the Store Library afterwards. Both Windows versions step by step: How to repair or reset an app in Windows

Fix 3. Install the framework that the message names

10 to 15 minutesLow riskThe message or the log says that the package depends on a framework that could not be found.

Windows refuses the package until a framework with that name, a fitting architecture and at least the minimum version is installed for your account. Supplying that one package removes the reason for the refusal.

1. Write down three things from the message: the framework name in quotes, the processor architecture and the minimum version.
2. Select Start, type PowerShell and open Windows PowerShell.
3. Run the first command below and look for the framework name in the list.
4. Get the framework from Microsoft as shown in the table below.
5. Install it, or pass it along with the app as in the second command.
6. Run the install of the app again.

1. What is installed now

Get-AppxPackage -PackageTypeFilter Framework | Select-Object Name, Version, Architecture

2. Install an app file together with its framework file

Add-AppxPackage -Path '.\MyApp.msix' -DependencyPath '.\Microsoft.VCLibs.x64.14.00.Desktop.appx'

3. Repair App Installer and winget (Windows PowerShell as administrator)

Install-PackageProvider -Name NuGet -Force | Out-Null
Install-Module -Name Microsoft.WinGet.Client -Force -Repository PSGallery | Out-Null
Repair-WinGetPackageManager -AllUsers

• -DependencyPath accepts several files. Microsoft notes that you can leave out a dependency that is already installed for the user.
• The Windows App SDK installer adds four packages in one run: Framework, Main, Singleton and DDLM.
• In a report in Microsoft's winget-cli repository, the installed Microsoft.VCLibs.140.00.UWPDesktop was version 14.0.33321.0 and App Installer asked for 14.0.33728.0. An installed framework can still be too old.

Fix 4. Remove the conflicting or older copy, then install again

10 minutesRead the warningThe message says that a package with the same name is already installed, or a game fails in the Xbox app with 0x80073CF3.

Windows does not install a package next to a different package with the same name. Xbox Support says that for games this code means a version of the game is already on the device. Its two solutions are to wait and retry, then to uninstall and reinstall.

1. Wait a few minutes and try the install once more. This is the first solution on the Xbox Support page.
2. Press Win + I and open Apps > Installed apps.
3. Type the name of the app in the search box. Two entries for one app are the conflict.
4. Select the three dots next to the copy you do not want and select Uninstall.
5. Restart the PC.
6. Install the app again from one source only.
7. If Settings shows no entry but the message still names a package, remove it with the two commands below.

Windows PowerShell as administrator: find the package, then remove it for all users

Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers -Name '*PartOfTheName*' | Select-Object Name, PackageFullName
Remove-AppxPackage -Package 'PackageFullName-from-the-first-command' -AllUsers

One vendor example: Affinity's help page says its Microsoft Store version and the version from its own site cannot be installed side by side, and the second install ends with this code. More ways to uninstall: Uninstall a program or app in Windows and, for built-in apps, Remove built-in Windows apps with PowerShell

Fix 5. Match the processor architecture and the Windows version

5 minutesNo riskYou install an .msix or .appx file by hand, or the PC has an ARM or a 32-bit processor.

Microsoft lists a package that does not support the correct processor architecture among the causes of 0x80073CF3. The framework has to fit as well: the message asks for a neutral build or one with the same architecture as the app.

1. Press Win + I and open System > About.
2. Under Device specifications, read the system type: 64-bit or 32-bit, x64-based or ARM-based.
3. Under Windows specifications, read the version and the OS build.
4. Read the architecture in the message or in the file name of the package: x64, x86 or arm64.
5. Download the build of the app that fits your PC, and frameworks of the same architecture.
6. Run the install again.

• A bundle file with several architectures in its name, such as _x86_x64_arm64.msixbundle, holds a package for each one, and Windows picks the right one.
• The minimum Windows version is the MinVersion of TargetDeviceFamily in the manifest. Microsoft: if the system's version is lower, the app is not considered applicable.
• Windows 10 left support on 14 October 2025. An app update can require a newer build than the PC has. We could not confirm that this is the reason for the Photos reports on Windows 10.

Fix 6. Reset the Microsoft Store cache and register the app again

10 minutesLow riskInstalls from Microsoft Store still stop with 0x80073CF3 after Fix 1, or an installed app will not start.

Resetting the Store cache with wsreset.exe is the first step on Microsoft's help page for a Store that does not open. Registering makes Windows read the app's manifest again. Microsoft documents this for an installation that was disabled, did not register or has become corrupted.

1. Press Win + R, type wsreset.exe and select OK.
2. Wait. A blank Command Prompt window opens, closes after about ten seconds, and Microsoft Store opens by itself.
3. Try the install in the Store again.
4. If the app is installed but will not start, open Windows PowerShell the normal way, not as administrator.
5. Run the commands below with a part of the app's name between the asterisks.
6. Start the app.

Register an installed app again (example: Photos)

$InstallLocation = Get-AppxPackage -Name '*Photos*' |
    Select-Object -ExpandProperty InstallLocation
$ManifestPath = $InstallLocation + '\Appxmanifest.xml'
Add-AppxPackage -Path $ManifestPath -Register -DisableDevelopmentMode

• For App Installer on Windows 11, Microsoft's winget notes give a shorter way: Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller | Reset-AppxPackage.
• If the registration itself answers with 0x80073CF3, the long message now names the framework that is missing. Go back to Fix 3 with that name.

Each of the two steps has its own page with the Windows 10 paths: Reset the Microsoft Store and How to re-register Microsoft Store apps with PowerShell

If the error is still there: read the AppXDeployment-Server log

Windows writes the full reason into an event log even when the screen shows only the sentence or the code. Microsoft's advice is to start with the log named AppXDeployment-Server.

1. Make the error appear once more and note the time.
2. Select Start, type Event Viewer and press Enter. You can also run eventvwr.msc.
3. Expand Event Viewer (Local) > Applications and Services Logs > Microsoft > Windows.
4. Open AppXDeployment-Server, then Microsoft-Windows-AppXDeploymentServer/Operational.
5. Find the entries with the level Error at the time you noted.
6. Read the entry whose text begins with "Windows cannot install package". It names the app, the framework or the conflicting package.
7. Or open Windows PowerShell and run one of the two commands below.

The last deployment in a table, or one failure by its ActivityId

Get-AppxLog | Out-GridView
Get-AppxLog -ActivityId 'paste-the-ActivityId-here'

• What the entries look like: in a log that a developer posted on Microsoft Q&A, event 628 held the sentence about the missing framework. Event 605 said that the last successful state was "Indexed" and that the failure came before "Resolved". Event 404 repeated the reason with the code.
• What to send to the app's publisher or to Microsoft: the full text of that entry, the ActivityId, your Windows edition and OS build, the system type and the output of the framework list from Fix 3.
• Test another account: packages are registered per user. If the app works in a new account, only your own registration is damaged, and Fix 6 in your account is the right step. How to make one: Create a new user account to test a problem
• When it is not your PC: in November 2025 a fault in the Microsoft Store pipeline made app updates ask for Microsoft.NET.Native.Framework.2.3, which the Store did not deliver. Microsoft staff wrote that there was no fix on the user's side. Microsoft corrected the pipeline within days.
• Work or school PC: blocked installs have their own codes, 0x80073CFF and 0x80073D01. Ask the administrator, because policy settings are not yours to change.
• Hardware: nothing in Microsoft's description of this code points to failing hardware. A full disk has its own code, 0x80073CF4.

How to keep the error from coming back

The pattern behind most reports is the same: an app was updated or installed while the packages around it stayed old. Regular Store updates keep the app and its frameworks in step, and one source per app keeps two copies from meeting.

Frequently asked questions

What does "Package failed updates, dependency or conflict validation" mean?

It means that Windows checked an app package and the check failed. The sentence is the text of system error 15603, which is written 0x80073CF3 as an HRESULT. Microsoft gives three possible causes: the package conflicts with one that is already installed, a package it depends on cannot be found, or the package does not support the processor architecture of the PC. The sentence itself does not say which of the three applies. That is written in the lines after it in PowerShell, or in the AppXDeployment-Server event log when you see only a dialog or a code.

Why do I get this message when I open a JPG picture in Photos?

Because the Photos app is an app package, and that package is the one that failed the check. The picture is not the problem: it opens in Paint or another program through Open with. Reports on Microsoft Q&A and vendor forums describe the same dialog on Windows 10 and Windows 11. Microsoft has not published a single cause for it. Start with a full round of updates in Microsoft Store, because the frameworks that Photos depends on arrive that way. Then repair, reset or reinstall Photos as described in Fix 2.

Is 0x80073CF3 the same error?

Yes. 0x80073CF3 is the code and "Package failed updates, dependency or conflict validation" is its text. Microsoft Store and the Xbox app usually show only the code. PowerShell, winget and App Installer show "Deployment failed with HRESULT: 0x80073CF3" followed by the sentence and the details. The dialog that appears when a file will not open shows only the sentence. The decimal number of the same error is 15603, and its name in Microsoft's documentation is ERROR_INSTALL_RESOLVE_DEPENDENCY_FAILED. People also type the code in lower case, 0x80073cf3.

Will resetting the Photos app delete my pictures?

No, a reset removes the data of the app, not your files. Windows describes the two buttons this way: Repair does not affect the app's data, and Reset deletes it. For Photos that means settings and sign-ins inside the app. The pictures themselves are files in your folders, such as the Pictures folder, and a reset does not touch those folders. Try Repair first, because it changes less. If your pictures exist in one place only, copy them to another drive before you change anything. That is good practice whatever the error is.

Does the error appear on both Windows 10 and Windows 11?

Yes. The code belongs to the app package system that both versions share, and the reports we read come from both. On Windows 11 the list of apps is under Settings > Apps > Installed apps. On Windows 10 it is under Settings > Apps > Apps & features, and the Store's update button sits under See more > Downloads and updates. Microsoft ended support for Windows 10 on 14 October 2025. Apps can still be repaired and reinstalled there, but an app update may ask for a newer Windows build than the PC has.

How do I find out which framework is missing?

Read the lines after the first sentence. In PowerShell the message says "Provide the framework" and gives the name in quotes, the architecture and the minimum version. It also lists what is installed now: empty braces mean the framework is not there at all. If you see only a dialog or a code, open Event Viewer and go to Applications and Services Logs > Microsoft > Windows > AppXDeployment-Server. The error entry at the time of the failure holds the same text. In PowerShell the command Get-AppxLog prints these entries without Event Viewer.

Does installing the Visual C++ Redistributable fix it?

No. The framework that the message names, Microsoft.VCLibs.140.00 or Microsoft.VCLibs.140.00.UWPDesktop, is an app package of its own. Microsoft states that packaged desktop apps cannot use the C++ runtime libraries that come with Visual Studio or with the Visual C++ Redistributable. Store apps get the framework package through Microsoft Store, which is why a full round of Store updates is the first fix. For a package that you install by hand, pass the framework file with the DependencyPath parameter of Add-AppxPackage. Repairing the redistributable in Control Panel changes nothing for this error.

The message is in Dutch, Portuguese or another language. Is it the same error?

Yes. Windows translates the sentence, so Dutch users search for "Validatie van updates, afhankelijkheid of conflict voor het pakket is mislukt" and Portuguese users for "Falha do pacote nas atualizações, na dependência ou na validação do conflito". People also add words such as "artinya", Indonesian for "meaning". The code 0x80073CF3 and the package names in the log are the same in every language. This page uses the English names of menus and buttons. In another language the buttons are in the same places, so the steps can be followed by position.

What do users on Reddit and other forums report as the fix?

The reports we read name three things. Users of new Windows 11 ARM virtual machines in Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion report that signing in to Microsoft Store and installing all app updates ended the message. On Microsoft Q&A, a reset of Photos followed by a reinstall from the Store is the answer with the most votes, and one user there reports that Repair alone did not help. In another forum thread the person simply switched to a different picture viewer. These are reports, not tests of ours. They match Fix 1 and Fix 2.

I see the message with OneDrive, GeForce NOW or another app. What should I do?

Find out which package failed, because the message can come from any packaged app. We could not confirm a cause that is specific to OneDrive or to GeForce NOW. If a file in a OneDrive folder will not open, the app that opens that file type is the one to repair, and Open with shows whether the file itself is fine. For an app that will not install, note the code and read the AppXDeployment-Server log. The entry names the package, and its wording tells you whether Fix 3, Fix 4 or Fix 5 applies.