The new Photos app on Windows 10 is amazing. It has a huge improvement, a nice interface, and decent image filtering options from what Microsoft gave us on Windows 8.1. But sometimes you might experience the windows 10 photos app not working as expected. The Photos app refuses to open or closes soon after launching. In some cases, the Photos app opens but doesn’t load image files. Also, a few users report Photos app stopped working after the Windows 10 update.
There are no fixed reasons for this behavior of the Photos app, It can be system file corruption, windows update bug, or the app itself causing the issue. Well if you also have noticed photos app refuse to open certain types of images or crash whenever you try to use it here few fixes to try.
Photos App Not Opening Windows 10
If this is the very first time you have noticed this problem restart your PC. That helps fix the problem if a temporary glitch causing the issue.
Restore default libraries
Windows 10 Photo app is connected with libraries in your File Explorer, so if there’s some problem in libraries, the app won’t show any photos, and restore libraries to default probably help.
- Use keyboard shortcut Windows + E to open file explorer,
- Click on the View tab then click Navigation pane and choose Show Libraries
- Now In the left pane right-click on Libraries and click on Restore default libraries
Update Windows and Photos app
Microsoft regularly releases security updates with various bug fixes and installing the latest windows updates resolves the previous problems as well. It is a good idea to make sure your Windows 10 is up-to-date.
- Click on the start menu then select the Settings app
- Next click Update & security then windows update,
- Hit check for updates button to allow download and install windows updates from Microsoft server,
- Once done restart your PC to apply them.
The same thing applies to the app itself, If the app is not updated, some component of the Photos app that conflicts with your system might experience an app crash issue.
- Open Microsoft store,
- Then at the upper right, select the account menu (the three dots) and then select download and updates,
- Now click update all links (located under available updates)
Run the troubleshooter
Run the build-in Windows store app troubleshooter that automatically detects and fixes the problems prevent photos app open normally.
- Open the Settings app using Win + I key,
- Go to Update & Security then Select Troubleshoot on the left pane.
- On the right pane, scroll down to the Windows Store Apps and highlight it, and then click on the “Run the troubleshooter” button.
- This will start to diagnose all the Microsoft Store apps, including the Photos app, and try to resolve them themselves.
Reset Photos app
Still need help, Let’s reset the app to its default state, which makes the app fresh like a new install.
- Open settings app using Windows + I keyboard shortcut,
- Click Apps then apps and features on left,
- Scroll down the Apps & Features panel and then click on Microsoft Photos. Next, click Advanced Options.
- This will open a new window with the option to reset the app
- Click on the Reset button to initiate the process. It may take a few moments to complete the process, and the photo will be reset to its default settings.
Reinstall the Photos app package
If all the above methods didn’t solve the problem it’s time to remove the app and reinstall it from scratch. To reinstall the Photos app package on your Windows 10, just follow the steps below.
- Type PowerShell into the Start menu and select run as administrator,
- Now Type the following command into the PowerShell window and press Enter
Get-AppxPackage *Microsoft.Windows.Photos* | Remove-AppxPackage
- It should take only a moment to remove the Photos app you need to exit PowerShell and restart your PC to complete the task.
- Now open Microsoft store, search for photos and click Install to get it back on your PC.
- Let’s open the photos app and check if it’s stable now.
Re-register photos app
Also, few windows users report after re-register the app helps make it more stable and open photos quickly. You can re-register the app following the steps below.
Open Powershell as administrator and perform the command below.
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}
Once done restart your PC and check if the photos app is quicker than before.
If all the above solutions fail to fix the problem, it’s time to utilize the system restore feature that reverts windows 10 previous working state and fixes the problems that started recently.