Something called PC App Store is on your machine, you have no memory of installing it, and it keeps opening or offering you programs you did not ask for.
Good news: this is an ordinary uninstall, not an infection. It arrived attached to something else you did install, and Windows has a documented way to remove it.
I counted what this machine is carrying before writing, and 25 of its installed entries could not be uninstalled the normal way. That number explains most of the frustration around this.
Where it came from
Worth knowing, because it changes what you look for next.
⭐ Bundled installers are the usual route. A free program you wanted arrives with a second one you did not, pre-ticked on a screen most people click past.
⚡ That is why you have no memory of it. You agreed to it in the sense that a checkbox was ticked, and in no other sense.
⚠️ It is not a virus and a virus scan will often say nothing. A scan is still worth running once, for a different reason.
⛔ And it is rarely alone. Whatever brought it in usually brought two or three other things.
The documented way to remove it
Microsoft's own route, and it is two clicks deep.
⭐ Microsoft states the path on its uninstall page: "Select Start > Settings > Apps > Installed apps. Find the app you want to remove, select More > Uninstall."
⚡ Sort your list by install date rather than by name. Everything that arrived on the same day arrived together.
⚠️ Remove the whole cluster, not just the one you noticed. That is the difference between it going and it coming back.
⛔ Restart afterwards before you judge whether it worked. Some entries only disappear from the list after a restart.
When Settings will not do it
Microsoft admits this one, which is rarer than you would think.
⭐ Microsoft says plainly: "Some apps can't be uninstalled from the Settings app right now."
⚡ Its answer is the older page: "In search on the taskbar, enter Control Panel and select it from the results. Select Programs > Programs and Features."
⚠️ Then right-click the entry and choose Uninstall. That list is not the same one Settings shows you, which is the whole point.
⛔ Two lists, two chances. Anything that resists the first often goes from the second without complaint.
What this machine is carrying
Counted on 29 August 2026, and the interesting number is the third one.
⚡ 182 installed entries have a display name. That is an ordinary laptop, not a hoarder.
⭐ 157 of them carry an uninstall command. Those are the ones that will come off cleanly.
⚠️ 25 do not carry one at all. No uninstall string means no button, in either list, and that is why some things appear unremovable.
⛔ PC App Store is not among them here, so nothing on this page is a removal I performed. It is the documented route plus what the registry says about how removal works.
The three checks after it is gone
Uninstalling the app is only the visible half, and the rest is ours.
⭐ Check your browser extensions. Bundled software very often adds one, and it survives the uninstall.
⚡ Check your startup list. Task Manager, Startup apps, and disable anything you do not recognize by name.
⚠️ Check your default search engine and home page. Clearing site data afterwards is a sensible finish.
⛔ Then restart and look again. Anything that comes back after a restart is being reinstalled by something still present.
How to stop the next one
Short, and it is one habit rather than a tool.
⚡ Choose Custom or Advanced during any free installer. The default option is where the extras hide.
⭐ Read the screen with the checkboxes. It is usually one screen and it is usually pre-ticked.
⚠️ Download from the maker rather than from a download portal. Portals wrap installers, which is how bundles happen.
⛔ And be careful with anything promising to remove it for you. Check what an unfamiliar program actually is before running it.
What not to do
Four things, and the first is the expensive one.
⭐ Do not buy a cleaner to remove it. This is a two click uninstall, and paid cleaners are how a second unwanted program arrives.
⚡ Do not delete the folder from Program Files. That leaves the entry, the startup task and the registry keys behind.
⚠️ Do not reinstall Windows over it. That is a serious step and this is not the reason for one.
⛔ And do not ignore it because it seems harmless. Whatever installed it can install the next one the same way.
Status: installed program entries counted here on 29 August 2026, on a Windows 11 Home 25H2 laptop, alongside Microsoft's own uninstall documentation. ⛔ PC App Store is not present here, so no removal was performed or reproduced, nothing was uninstalled or changed, and no installed program of anybody's is named.
How do I uninstall PC App Store from Windows?
Through Settings, Apps, Installed apps. Find it, select More, then Uninstall, which is Microsoft's own documented route. If it is not there or the option will not work, open Control Panel, then Programs and Features, and uninstall it from that list instead.
Is PC App Store a virus?
No, and a virus scan will often report nothing. It is bundled software: it arrives attached to a free program you did install, usually pre-ticked on an installer screen. That makes it unwanted rather than malicious, and it comes off with an ordinary uninstall.
Why can I not uninstall some programs at all?
Because some entries carry no uninstall command. On this machine 25 of 182 installed entries have none, which means no button appears in either list. Microsoft acknowledges that some apps cannot be uninstalled from Settings and points to Control Panel for those.
The Short Version
- It is bundled software, not a virus. It came with something else.
- Microsoft's route is Settings, Apps, Installed apps, More, Uninstall.
- Sort that list by install date. Everything from that day came together.
- If Settings will not do it, Control Panel and Programs and Features will.
- Microsoft admits some apps cannot be uninstalled from Settings.
- On this machine 25 of 182 entries carry no uninstall command at all.
- Check browser extensions and startup apps after removing it.
- Choose Custom in free installers. That screen is where extras hide.
Where to Next
Open Settings, Apps, Installed apps and sort by install date. That view answers most of this on its own.
Remove everything that arrived on the same day, not just the one whose name you recognized.
If an entry refuses, try Control Panel and Programs and Features before assuming anything is wrong.
Then check browser extensions and startup apps, because those survive an uninstall and are the reason things come back.
And if something reinstalled itself after a restart, say what it was called in the comments. That is the part worth collecting, because the installer is still on the machine.
Isaac Smith is the founder and editor of PC Glance, a website that covers computers, laptops, and technology. He is a tech enthusiast and a computer geek who loves to share his insights and help his readers make smart choices when buying tech gadgets or laptops. He is always curious and updated about the latest tech trends.