Windows 11 apps like Notepad, Snipping Tool, and the Xbox Ally Armoury Crate aren't loading and throwing up a "Check your account" box — what is error code 0x803f8001? Here's what we know.

Notepad failing to open on Windows 11.

Windows 11 users are having a nightmarish start to their day. The error code 0x803f8001 is appearing for many when trying to open apps on their PC. File system error (-2143322111) also appears on affected systems.

We've run into the issue when trying to open Armoury Crate, Notepad, and Snipping Tool. It seems like the issue affects a wider range of apps. I'll update this piece as more information becomes available.

A post on a Microsoft forum by user "Kave" shared frustrations recently:

"Getting the error code 0x803f8001 for most my microsoft apps including my Notepad app which has important information and URLS i need for my job. This is getting pretty paralyzing. I can see other people saying they cannot open stuff like Alienware command center, Nitrosense, Snipping tool, etc with the same error code today."

According to Harold Milan, an Independent Advisor who replied to the post, that occur often occurs when the Microsoft Store cannot validate app licenses.

"In most cases, this is due to a corrupted Store cache, a temporary Microsoft account sync issue, or a Store registration glitch rather than actual data loss," said Milan.

For our team, applying update KB5074109 fixed the issue. (Image credit: Ben Wilson | Windows Central)

A Reddit thread illustrates that the error affects more applications. Specifically, The Xbox Ally and ROG Ally Armoury Crate apps are not able to load for some users, returning account errors.

Our team is trying to remedy the issue on our respective PCs, but we have not found success yet. Specifically, we have tried resetting the Microsoft Store app on a PC, but to no avail.

One member of our team was able to fix the issue by manually uninstalling the Armoury Crate and reinstalling it from ASUS' website, for example. But the fact this issue seems to be affecting all sorts of apps beyond the Xbox Ally Armoury Crate, it stands to reason that it's some sort of account outage at Microsoft's end.

Our sources at Microsoft and ASUS have suggested that they're aware of the issue. We'll keep you updated.

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