“Resource $(string.RequirePrivateStoreOnly)” Error After installing KB3147458

After installing the April Cumulative Update KB3147458, the following error may pop up when opening the Group Policy Editor.

Resource ‘$(string.RequirePrivateStoreOnly)’ referenced in attribute displayName could not be found.

File C:\WINDOWS\PolicyDefinitions\WindowsStore.admx, line 140, column 9

Although dismissing the error messages (occurs twice) should allow you to use the Group Policy Editor, the “Store” category may be missing from Windows Components, under Computer Configuration and User Configuration.

This is probably because the update added a new Policy setting into the WindowsStore.admx file, but didn’t add the corresponding string ID in WindowsStore.adml. Microsoft is aware of this issue, as John Wink [MSFT] is following up KB3147458 issues; hopefully, this little glitch will be fixed soon. Until then, here is how to prevent the error from occurring when opening the Group Policy Editor.

1. First, backup the file C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions\WindowsStore.admx.
2. Open a Command Prompt (Admin) window.
3. Type the following commands one by one and press ENTER after each command:

   takeown /f C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions\WindowsStore.admx
   
   icacls C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions\WindowsStore.admx /grant Administrators:F
   
   notepad C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions\WindowsStore.admx

4. In Notepad, go to Line 133 in the file (Ctrl + G)
5. Select the contents from line 133 to 166 (including), delete those lines, and save the file.
6. Then type the following command to restore ownership back to TrustedInstaller

   icacls C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions\WindowsStore.admx /setowner "NT Service\TrustedInstaller"

You should no longer get the error when launching Group Policy Editor. Additionally, the “Store” category would be back under “Administrative Templates\Windows Components”.

For reference, these are the lines you want to clear.

<policy
name="RequirePrivateStoreOnly_1"
class="User"
displayName="$(string.RequirePrivateStoreOnly)"
explainText="$(string.RequirePrivateStoreOnly_Help)"
key="Software\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsStore"
valueName="RequirePrivateStoreOnly"
>
<parentCategory ref="WindowsStore" />
<supportedOn ref="windows:SUPPORTED_Windows_10_0" />
<enabledValue>
<decimal value="1" />
</enabledValue>
<disabledValue>
<decimal value="0" />
</disabledValue>
</policy>
<policy
name="RequirePrivateStoreOnly_2"
class="Machine"
displayName="$(string.RequirePrivateStoreOnly)"
explainText="$(string.RequirePrivateStoreOnly_Help)"
key="Software\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsStore"
valueName="RequirePrivateStoreOnly"
>
<parentCategory ref="WindowsStore" />
<supportedOn ref="windows:SUPPORTED_Windows_10_0" />
<enabledValue>
<decimal value="1" />
</enabledValue>
<disabledValue>
<decimal value="0" />
</disabledValue>
</policy>

Microsoft might be adding the necessary string IDs to the string table in the corresponding ADML file in a future update, which should fix the error.