That error means users can’t open and utilize Microsoft Teams within Windows 11. When error 0xc0000020 occurs, you can either start using Slack or Skype as alternatives or try to get that issue fixed. You can try fixing Microsoft Teams’ 0xc0000020 error with these potential resolutions.
1. Reset the Microsoft Teams App
Firstly, try resolving Microsoft Teams’ 0xc0000020 error with Windows 11’s built-in Reset option. That’s a troubleshooting button you can press to clear data for apps that aren’t working right. This is how you can select to reset Microsoft Teams within Windows 11:
Press Start on the taskbar, and select to open the menu’s pinned Settings app. Select the Settings Apps tab. Click Apps & features, and scroll down to Microsoft Teams from there. Then press Microsoft Teams’ three-dot menu button and select Advanced options. To ensure there aren’t any MS Teams background processes running, press the Terminate button. Then select the Reset option there. Click Reset a second time to clear app data for Microsoft Teams. You can select a Repair option for Microsoft Teams as well. Click Repair if resetting MS Teams isn’t enough to resolve the 0xc0000020 error.
2. Rename the Microsoft Teams Data Folder
This possible resolution involves renaming a MicrosoftTeams data folder within the WindowsApp directory. As that’s a protected directory, you’ll need to take ownership of WindowsApp to open it. Then you can rename the MicrosoftTeams as follows:
Bring up Windows 11’s File Explorer drive navigation app (pressing Windows key + E does the job). Type C:\Program Files\WindowsApps into Explorer’s address bar, and hit the Return key. WindowsApps will then open if you’ve taken ownership of it. Right-click the MicrosoftTeams_21239. 300. 960. 1678_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe to select Rename. Add . old to the end of the MicrosoftTeams folder title, and press the Enter keyboard button. Repeat the above two steps for a second MicrosoftTeams_21239. 300. 960. 1678_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe folder there. Then close out of Explorer, and click the Start menu’s Restart option.
Some users have also fixed error 0xc0000020 by deleting the specified MicrosoftTeams data folders instead of renaming them. Deleting or renaming those folders by adding .old will reset them. So, deleting the folders is the same method.
3. Disable Microsoft Teams and Other Items From the Windows Startup
Some Microsoft Teams users have said in forum posts they’ve fixed error 0xc0000020 by disabling that app from the Windows startup. Try disabling the Microsoft Teams startup item like this:
Click Start with the right button on your mouse and select the Task Manager option. Select Startup in the Task Manager window. Then select Microsoft Teams, and click the Disable option. Disable all other non-essential startup items listed there. Restart your Windows 11 laptop or desktop.
4. Repair the Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime App
Microsoft Edge Webview2 is a backend web app for Microsoft Teams. Some users might need to repair issues with that backend app to resolve the 0xc0000020 error. This is how you can repair the Microsoft Edge WebView2 app:
Open Apps & features as outlined in steps one to three of this guide’s first method. Type Microsoft edge WebView2 in the search box there, and click the three-dot button for that app. Click Modify on the menu. Select the blue Repair option in the window that opens.
5. Set Up a Different User Account
Microsoft Teams’ 0xc0000020 error might be due to a user account corruption issue. In which case, you might be able to utilize that app fine in a different user account. Try setting up a different local user account with a method in our guide for creating new user accounts in Windows 11. Then sign in to that different account to see if you can open MS Teams there.
The new account won’t include all your user files and software. If Microsoft Teams works ok in that Windows account, however, you will at least be able to utilize the app from there. You can migrate your user profile data to the new account if essential.
6. Reinstall the Microsoft Teams App
The Bad Image 0xc0000020 error message suggests that users try reinstalling the app. Doing so will likely fix corrupted Microsoft Teams files, and it won’t take long to reinstall the software. This is how you can reinstall Microsoft Teams:
Open Settings to bring up Apps & features as covered within the first method. Find Microsoft Teams within Apps & features, and click that app’s three-dot menu button. Select Uninstall on the menu. Click Uninstall again. Open Run, and input %appdata% in that accessory’s text box. Click OK to open a Roaming folder. Select the Teams subfolder there, and click Delete on Explorer’s command bar. Open Microsoft Store by clicking that app’s pinned Start menu shortcut. Input Microsoft Teams in MS Store’s search box, and select to open that app’s page from there. Select Get on the Microsoft Teams page to reinstall the app.
7. Restore Windows 11 to a Previous Date
The System Restoration utility is one with which you can roll Windows 11 back a previous time. If you can select a restore point that predates the 0xc0000020 error on your PC, System Restore can “go back in time” to a point where the error wasn’t around. For instance, rolling back Windows might fix a user account issue causing the error.
However, note that restore points remove software installed after it was set up. As such, be aware that there might be some data loss.
Here are the steps for restoring Windows 11:
To open System Restore, bring up the Run dialog. Then type in the restrui Run command, and click the OK option. System Restore might include a Choose a different restore point radio button. Select that option if it does, and click Next to continue. Click the Show more restore points box if System Restore doesn’t list all available restoration dates. Choose a restore point that will likely restore Windows to a time when you could open Microsoft Teams without issue. Alternatively, select the oldest restoration data available. Press Next > Finish to start the Windows 11 system restoration.
8. Reset Windows 11
Resetting Windows 11 is the most drastic way to fix error 0xc0000020. Reinstalling Windows 11 with the Reset this PC utility will remove user-installed apps and restore the platform to its default setting configuration. However, you can select to keep user files.
You may not need to reset Windows 11 to get the 0xc0000020 error fixed. If other fixes don’t work, however, then this resolution could be your best bet. You can perform a reset as covered within the first method of our guide to factory resetting Windows PCs.
Get Chatting on Microsoft Teams Again
So, don’t abandon Microsoft Teams for alternative apps too soon when you need to fix error 0xc0000020. Those user-confirmed resolutions will probably get that app’s error 0xc0000020 fixed on most Windows 11 PCs. With that issue resolved, you can start chatting on MS Teams again.
