[Windows 10][26.903.8094.0] Stable ChatGPT/Codex does not launch at all, while Beta works

What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?

26.903.8094.0

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Pro

What platform is your computer?

Windows 10 22H2 (10.0.19045) x64

What issue are you seeing?

The current stable ChatGPT/Codex Windows application does not launch at all.

Environment:

• Windows 10 22H2, build 19045, x64
• Stable Codex/ChatGPT version: 26.903.8094.0
• ChatGPT Beta version: 26.727.4816.0

Steps to reproduce:

1. Launch the stable ChatGPT/Codex application.
2. No window appears.
3. No persistent ChatGPT process is created.

I verified this with PowerShell:

Get-Process ChatGPT -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select Id,CPU,MainWindowHandle,Path

The command returns no output after attempting to launch the stable version.

I then installed ChatGPT Beta from Microsoft Store on exactly the same PC, Windows installation, Windows account, and OpenAI account.

ChatGPT Beta launches successfully and Codex works normally.

Installed versions:

ChatGPT
26.903.8094.0
OpenAI.Codex

ChatGPT (Beta)
26.727.4816.0

ChatGPT Classic
1.2026.190.0

Expected behavior:
The stable ChatGPT/Codex application should launch normally.

Actual behavior:
The stable application silently fails to launch, while the Beta version works correctly on the same system.

This appears to be a regression specific to the current stable Windows build.

Screenshots are attached showing the installed versions and the working Beta application.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Have Stable OpenAI.Codex 26.903.8094.0 installed on Windows 10 22H2 x64, build 19045.

2. Microsoft Store / AppX stages update 26.915.4065.0.

3. Launch Stable Codex from the Start menu or with:

shell:AppsFolder\OpenAI.Codex_2p2nqsd0c76g0!App

4. No window appears and ChatGPT.exe is never created.

5. AppXDeploymentServer logs show that Windows attempts to update:

OpenAI.Codex_26.903.8094.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0

to:

OpenAI.Codex_26.915.4065.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0

6. Package registration fails immediately with:

Event ID: 9621
Provider: Microsoft-Windows-AppXDeployment-Server
HRESULT: 0x80073D28

Error:

The package cannot be registered because administrator privileges are required to install the servicing package.

7. Follow-up AppX Events 401 and 404 report the same HRESULT.

8. There is no AppModel Runtime Event 201 (LaunchProcess) for Stable, no persistent ChatGPT.exe process, no WER crash report and no crash dump.

9. ChatGPT Beta 26.727.4816.0 installed on the exact same Windows system launches successfully and produces AppModel Runtime Event 201.

What is the expected behavior?

Launching the Stable Codex/ChatGPT application should start ChatGPT.exe and display the application normally.

A staged Microsoft Store update should not prevent the currently registered version from launching if the update cannot be registered.

If administrator privileges are genuinely required for the update, the application or Microsoft Store should request elevation or report the deployment error instead of silently preventing Codex from launching.

Additional information

The failure occurs before the application executable starts.

Registered Stable package:

OpenAI.Codex_26.903.8094.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0

Staged update:

OpenAI.Codex_26.915.4065.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0

At every Stable launch, AppX attempts to register the staged update and fails:

2026-09-19 11:37:00.806 +03:00

Microsoft-Windows-AppXDeployment-Server
Event ID 9621
HRESULT 0x80073D28

Windows reports that administrator privileges are required to install the servicing package.

No ChatGPT.exe process is subsequently created.

ChatGPT Beta 26.727.4816.0 launches successfully on the same machine.

Start with the Stable package and staged update versions in the issue, then inspect the AppXDeployment-Server Event 9621, followed by Events 401 and 404, for HRESULT 0x80073D28. Compare the Stable launch with the working Beta using the supplied shell:AppsFolder entry point, and consider the issue done when the stable package launches ChatGPT.exe and produces the expected AppModel Runtime Event 201.