Just a heads up in case its encountered anywhere else, but if you have a Windows pc in S Mode and you try to download some Windows Preview updates, they will download and fail to install, displaying the error message Install error - 0x800f081f.
S Mode is incompatible with Preview updates.
S Mode only allows applications to be installed from the Microsoft App Store, and prevents software from other locations like a CD, USB, network drive etc from being installed, unless you create an appstore (.appx) package which then effectively allows the app to be sideloaded.
The App Store uses NTFS folder and file permissions to work, with a special windows account (which doesnt appear in the list of Win32 api User SID’s) which is also whats needed to install a Linux Distro or linux app on the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) from the MS App store or sideloaded ( Build a Custom Linux Distro for WSL | Microsoft Learn )
Havent tried this ( Packaging MSIX apps - MSIX | Microsoft Learn ) yet, but its a variation of creating you own Windows linux distro package to install on the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) to run Linux distro’s, linux applications and tools on Windows 10 or 11.
First, a little background on how we distribute Linux distros for WSL. We distribute Linux distros for WSL as UWP applications through the Microsoft Store. You can install those applications that will then run on WSL – the subsystem that sits in the Windows kernel. This delivery mechanism has many benefits as discussed in an earlier blog post.
Sideloading a Custom Linux Distro Package
You can create a custom Linux distro package as an application to sideload on your personal machine. Please note that your custom package would not be distributed through the Microsoft Store unless you submit as a distribution maintainer.
To set up your machine to sideload apps, you will need to enable this in the system settings under “For Developers”. Be sure to either have developer mode, or sideload apps selected
Key concepts to know before packing to MSIX - MSIX | Microsoft Learn
Create an app package with the MakeAppx.exe tool - MSIX | Microsoft Learn