Installation fails with no output message

Brief description of your issue

Winget will respond normally to many commands, but refuses to do any installations. Anytime I wrote, for example, winget upgrade --all, it would simply display a spinner for a bit, and then exit with no error message.

Logs

I checked the logs, which look like this:

2024-07-31 09:15:59.151 [CORE] WinGet, version [1.8.1911], activity [{EAE8B4B6-154D-42E2-AA82-50B6F9F43277}]
2024-07-31 09:15:59.151 [CORE] OS: Windows.Desktop v10.0.22631.3958
2024-07-31 09:15:59.151 [CORE] Command line Args: "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_1.23.1911.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\WindowsPackageManagerServer.exe" -Embedding
2024-07-31 09:15:59.151 [CORE] Package: Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller v1.23.1911.0
2024-07-31 09:15:59.151 [CORE] IsCOMCall:1; Caller: C:\Windows\explorer.exe
2024-07-31 09:15:59.163 [CORE] Default proxy is not set
2024-07-31 09:15:59.163 [REPO] REST HTTP Client helper does not use proxy
2024-07-31 09:15:59.171 [REPO] REST HTTP Client helper does not use proxy
2024-07-31 09:15:59.177 [REPO] Sending http GET request to: https://storeedgefd.dsx.mp.microsoft.com/v9.0/information
2024-07-31 09:15:59.307 [REPO] Response status: 200
2024-07-31 09:15:59.307 [REPO] Authentication node not found. Assuming authentication type none.
2024-07-31 09:15:59.307 [REPO] Sending http GET request to: https://storeedgefd.dsx.mp.microsoft.com/v9.0/information
2024-07-31 09:15:59.325 [REPO] Response status: 200
2024-07-31 09:15:59.325 [REPO] Authentication node not found. Assuming authentication type none.
2024-07-31 09:15:59.328 [REPO] Creating new SQLite Index with version [Latest] at ':memory:'
2024-07-31 09:15:59.364 [REPO] Reading MSI UpgradeCodes
2024-07-31 09:15:59.600 [REPO] Reading MSI UpgradeCodes
2024-07-31 09:16:00.089 [REPO] Opening database for ReadWrite at 'C:\Users\chhou\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\StoreEdgeFD\installed.db'
2024-07-31 09:16:00.090 [REPO] Opened SQLite Index with version [1.3], last write [2022-05-24 11:15:13.000]
2024-07-31 09:16:00.117 [REPO] Sending http POST request to: https://storeedgefd.dsx.mp.microsoft.com/v9.0/manifestSearch
2024-07-31 09:16:00.137 [REPO] Response status: 200
2024-07-31 09:16:00.191 [REPO] Opening database for ReadWrite at 'C:\Users\chhou\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\Microsoft.Winget.Source_8wekyb3d8bbwe\installed.db'
2024-07-31 09:16:00.192 [REPO] Opened SQLite Index with version [1.3], last write [2024-07-04 15:39:58.000]

However, sometimes the following line will appear at the bottom:

2024-07-31 09:16:49.294 [REPO] Did not find Id [calibre.calibre] in tracked source: winget

I was able to successfully examine the SQLite database file, and nothing stood out as missing or wrong at a glance.
I also checked the other directories in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\, but found nothing notable.

Manual solution

I had previously tried uninstalling and reinstalling before abandoning the issue. That did not work. I even tried reinstalling App Installer.
This time, I decided to just rename the entire %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe.bak. When I tried to re-run winget upgrade --all, everything finally worked. I still have the backup if you need additional information.

Steps to reproduce

I do not know how my winget got into the state it was in for the bug to appear. I haven't manually modified any of its files (until I found the solution mentioned above) - at least not intentionally.

Running commands like winget upgrade --all would simply exit with no error message. That is, nothing was printed to the terminal after running the command.

Expected behavior

I expect the installer to proceed with upgrading/installing, not simply exit with no message.

Actual behavior

I expect the installer to proceed with upgrading/installing, not simply exit with no message.

Environment

[winget --info]
Windows Package Manager v1.8.1911
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Windows: Windows.Desktop v10.0.22631.3958
System Architecture: X64
Package: Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller v1.23.1911.0

Winget Directories
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Logs                               %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\DiagOutputDir
User Settings                      %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\settings.json
Portable Links Directory (User)    %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WinGet\Links
Portable Links Directory (Machine) C:\Program Files\WinGet\Links
Portable Package Root (User)       %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WinGet\Packages
Portable Package Root              C:\Program Files\WinGet\Packages
Portable Package Root (x86)        C:\Program Files (x86)\WinGet\Packages
Installer Downloads                %USERPROFILE%\Downloads

Links
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Privacy Statement   https://aka.ms/winget-privacy
License Agreement   https://aka.ms/winget-license
Third Party Notices https://aka.ms/winget-3rdPartyNotice
Homepage            https://aka.ms/winget
Windows Store Terms https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/storedocs/terms-of-sale

Admin Setting                             State
--------------------------------------------------
LocalManifestFiles                        Disabled
BypassCertificatePinningForMicrosoftStore Disabled
InstallerHashOverride                     Disabled
LocalArchiveMalwareScanOverride           Disabled
ProxyCommandLineOptions                   Disabled
DefaultProxy                              Disabled

Start with the winget upgrade --all path and the App Installer package-state directories named in the report, using the supplied logs and backup to investigate the silent exit. There is no source file, failing test, or reliable reproduction identified; done would mean reproducing the failure and establishing a user-visible error or a confirmed installation path.