[Windows][Desktop 26.727.6591.0] Processes run but no visible window, even after terminating and relaunching

What version of the Codex App are you using?

ChatGPT/Codex Desktop 26.727.6591.0

The issue occurred during or immediately after an automatic update from 26.721.11231.0.

What subscription do you have?

Not included for privacy.

What platform is your computer?

Windows 11 x64.

What issue are you seeing?

The ChatGPT/Codex Desktop processes start and remain visible in Task Manager, but no usable application window appears.

Waiting longer than two minutes does not help. Terminating all ChatGPT processes and launching the app again also does not restore the window during the affected startup sequence.

Windows AppX activation reports success even though no usable UI is displayed. The incident coincided with an automatic package update:

• The older package was launched without producing a stable window.
• Windows removed the older package registration and registered the newer version.
• Package deployment completed successfully.
• During deployment, Windows recorded Event ID 728 with error 0x80070015, indicating that the app's prelaunch service could not be notified about the install/uninstall operation.
• No matching Application Error, Application Hang, or Windows Error Reporting event was found.
• A responsive main window eventually appeared after the update sequence completed.

This suggests a startup/window-creation or activation race during or immediately after an automatic update. The application can remain running in the background without showing an error, recovery UI, or visible window.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Start ChatGPT/Codex Desktop on Windows while an automatic app update is pending or being applied.
2. Observe that ChatGPT processes appear in Task Manager.
3. Wait more than two minutes.
4. Observe that no usable application window appears.
5. Terminate all ChatGPT processes.
6. Launch the application again.
7. Observe that the processes start again but the window may still not appear.

The update timing may be required to reproduce the problem.

What is the expected behavior?

The desktop application should do one of the following:

• Open its main window after launch.
• Display update progress while migration or registration is in progress.
• Detect the failed startup and recreate or activate the main window.
• Display a clear, recoverable error if startup cannot complete.

Terminating all application processes and relaunching should not leave the application running indefinitely without a visible UI.

Privacy note

This report intentionally excludes usernames, email addresses, account identifiers, Windows SIDs, process IDs, exact timestamps, local filesystem paths, device identifiers, hardware details, conversation or workspace content, and raw logs. Sanitized event details can be provided if requested.