Unable to Launch Windows Terminal via wt.exe or windowsterminal.exe After KB5050021 Update

[itm-platform]

Windows Terminal version

1.21.3231.0

Windows build number

22621.4751

Other Software

No response

Steps to reproduce

Detailed Description

After applying the KB5050021 update on January 14, 2025, the Windows Terminal fails to launch when executed via:

• wt.exe in PowerShell, CMD, or VS Code integrated terminal.
• Direct execution of windowsterminal.exe in C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_1.21.3231.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe.

No error messages are displayed, and the process is not visible in Task Manager for long. The WindowsTerminal.exe process briefly appears in Task Manager but disappears after a couple of seconds. However, the terminal opens correctly when launched via its app icon in the Start menu.

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Steps to Reproduce

1. Update Windows 11 to build 22621.4751 via KB5050021.
2. Attempt to open Windows Terminal via wt.exe in a PowerShell or CMD window.
3. Alternatively, attempt to open windowsterminal.exe directly.
4. Observe that no terminal appears and no error messages are shown.

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Observations

• When launched via the app icon, the terminal works correctly.
• Running Get-Process -Name *WindowsTerminal*, wt after opening the terminal via the app icon shows WindowsTerminal as active. Running the same command after executing wt.exe returns no processes.
• When executing wt.exe, the WindowsTerminal.exe process briefly appears in Task Manager but disappears after a couple of seconds.
• The issue persists across the following environments:
  • Default PowerShell terminal.
  • CMD.
  • VS Code integrated terminal.
• Resetting, uninstalling, and reinstalling Windows Terminal, as well as running sfc /scannow and DISM commands, did not resolve the issue.

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Expected Behavior

wt.exe and windowsterminal.exe should launch Windows Terminal normally, as before the update.

Additional Notes

The issue affects workflows that depend on scripting or terminal automation via wt.exe. This problem has been consistently reproducible and may affect other users who installed the KB5050021 update.

Expected Behavior

Expected Behavior

wt.exe and windowsterminal.exe should launch Windows Terminal normally, as before the update.

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Actual Behavior

No error messages are displayed, and the process is not visible in Task Manager for long. The WindowsTerminal.exe process briefly appears in Task Manager but disappears after a couple of seconds. However, the terminal opens correctly when launched via its app icon in the Start menu.

[carlos-zamora]

Thanks for filing! Can you see your logs in the event viewer after WT fails to launch /?

[itm-platform]

Thank you for replying, Carlos.
There is an error, indeed. In the Application section

Faulting application name: WindowsTerminal.exe, version: 1.21.2411.18001, time stamp: 0x673bd9f6
Faulting module name: ucrtbase.dll, version: 10.0.22621.3593, time stamp: 0x10c46e71
Exception code: 0xc0000409
Fault offset: 0x000000000007f6fe
Faulting process id: 0x0xA3B0
Faulting application start time: 0x0x1DB6D5F163740D1
Faulting application path: C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_1.21.3231.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\WindowsTerminal.exe
Faulting module path: C:\Windows\System32\ucrtbase.dll
Report Id: 5e4f4178-661a-4096-bbea-2c03945389dc
Faulting package full name: 
Faulting package-relative application ID: 

And immediately after an informational event:

Fault bucket 1393053477648787916, type 5
Event Name: BEX64
Response: Not available
Cab Id: 0

Problem signature:
P1: WindowsTerminal.exe
P2: 1.21.2411.18001
P3: 673bd9f6
P4: ucrtbase.dll
P5: 10.0.22621.3593
P6: 10c46e71
P7: 000000000007f6fe
P8: c0000409
P9: 0000000000000007
P10: 

Attached files:
\\?\C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WER.233629f8-c51f-467a-9558-01bca7a1a269.tmp.dmp
\\?\C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WER.edbceb3f-3c36-4217-ba32-08dddf26e46a.tmp.WERInternalMetadata.xml
\\?\C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WER.60c05676-9e49-43db-9cf2-4d233390a8a1.tmp.csv
\\?\C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WER.e8b43739-3d08-4e21-9554-3ef9cab95195.tmp.txt
\\?\C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\Temp\WER.7ed730bc-2d0c-4c2a-9f7a-27602010561b.tmp.xml

These files may be available here:
\\?\C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\ReportArchive\AppCrash_WindowsTerminal._145b4ba563b4929ee153b3f1af88f4d3296c70ff_88bbacee_7ac16ee1-6e8e-4922-98a5-6d5f0f790397

Analysis symbol: 
Rechecking for solution: 0
Report Id: 5e4f4178-661a-4096-bbea-2c03945389dc
Report Status: 268435456
Hashed bucket: dc33c3a7dfb606e333551ec1d860e9cc
Cab Guid: 0

Inside the folder there is a Report.wer file whose contents you can see here (download file)