No matter what the case may be, the bottom line is that error 0x8e5e0408 is a deadly problem. Error 0x8e5e0408 is almost always accompanied by an error message that basically states something went wrong and the user needs to try to install the app again. However, error 0x8e5e0408 is displayed no matter how many times the user tries to install the app. In almost all cases, error 0x8e5e0408 is born when a Windows 10 upgrade somehow changes or alters the name of the user’s local user account (located in the directory C:\Users). The following are the two methods that have proven to be successful at fixing error 0x8e5e0408 for users who have been affected by it in the past: Before you proceed with the Registry Method, make sure you back it up. see here
Method 1: Install the app you want to through a new account
Create a new user account and sign into it. Connect to the Windows Store using the same Microsoft account you use on your main account. Install the app that wouldn’t install on your main account and display error 0x8e5e0408. Switch to your main user account. Copy the entire application data folder for the app you installed located in the C:\Users{newaccount}\AppData\Local\Package\ directory and paste it in %AppData%\Local\Package. Update the file permissions for the copied folder. Once again, install the application that would normally fail to be installed and display error 0x8e5e0408 from the Windows Store, and it should now be installed successfully.
Method 2: Change the name of your user account back to the way it was
Press the Windows Logo key + R to open up a Run Type regedit into the Run dialog and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
In the left pane of the Registry Editor, navigate to the following directory:
Scour the subfolders of the ProfileList folder (the folders that have S-1-5 in the beginning of their names) for a key titled ProfileImagePath that has the directory C:\Users<your username> set as its data.
Once you find that specific ProfileImagePath key, double-click on it to open its specifications. In the Value data section, change the username in the C:\Users<your username> directory to the way it is supposed to be. Click on OK. Close the Registry Editor. Restart your computer, and once it boots up, the name of your account’s folder in Users will be what it used to be and you will be able to successfully download any and all apps from the Windows Store.
Method 3: Perform a factory reset
If Method 1 did not work for you, an instance which is quite unlikely, the only option you have left is to perform a factory reset. Performing a factory reset is bound to fix the issue for you, but you should back any valuable data up before you go through with the factory reset as it is bound to delete all of your personal files. Open the Start Menu. Click on Settings.
Out of the array of different options provided, click on Update & Security.
Click on Recovery in the left pane.
In the right pane, click on the Get started button under the Reset this PC
When provided with a choice to either keep your files or remove everything, click on Remove everything. Follow the onscreen instructions and dialogs, and once you are done, your computer will have been reset to factory settings and you will no longer be faced with error 0x8e5e0408 when you try to install applications from the Windows Store.
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