Microsoft Photos is a Microsoft tool that allows you to view your photos on your computer easily. Using this tool, you can view each photo or video without being distracted.
Although the Windows Photos app works efficiently sometimes, it starts to take time to open up and makes Windows Photos app slow to open. Follow this guide to fix this issue and learn how to fix the Photos app.
Why Can’t I Open My Pictures In Windows?
There are two possibilities if you cannot open any of the photographs.
- Internet connectivity is either nonexistent or extremely slow. As the app needs to be connected to OneDrive account, make sure the internet is available.
- The program has a cache problem. You must clear the app cache to get the Microsoft photos app working again.
Methods To Fix Windows Photos App Slow To Open Or Not Opening
- Update The Photos App From Microsoft Store
- Set Windows Photo Viewer As Default Photo Viewer Application
- Repair Or Reset Photos App And Restart Your PC
- Unlink Onedrive Connection
- Run Windows Store Apps Troubleshooter
- Re-Register The Photos App.
- Delete The Outdated Registry Keys
1. Update The Microsoft Photos App From Microsoft Store.
If there are new app updates for the Photos App, check the Microsoft Store. Bug fixes and performance upgrades come with new updates and help to fix the “Windows photos app slow to open” issue.
- To update the app, open the Microsoft Store and look for Microsoft Photos.
- Search for the Photos app in the search bar. Alternatively, go to the library and find the photos app.
- Select the Get Updates icon and wait for an update.
- Now see if this app has received any updates. Update it if necessary.
2. Set Windows Photo Viewer As Default Photo Viewer Application.
Ensure Windows Photo Viewer is set as the default app for viewing photos. Follow the steps to make it a default photo viewer app and fix the Microsoft photos app problem.
- Open Your computer’s Control Panel and Click the Default Programs button.
- Select the link for Setting your default programs.
- From the list, pick Windows Photo Viewer.
- Select “Make this software the default.”
- Close the window and determine if the issue has been fixed.
3. Repair Or Reset Photos App And Restart Your PC
Reset the Pictures app on your Windows 11/Windows 10 computer if you experience “windows photos app slow to open” issues.
Windows 10
- Open the Settings panel, then select the Apps & Features option under Apps.
- Find Photos app. You need to scroll down and choos the Advanced options.
- Try Repairing it from the following screen to start, then observe. Click the Reset button to start the process if it is unsuccessful.
- Check if the photos app problem is fixed or not.
Windows 11
The choices to repair or reset the Photos app are located at the following location in Windows 11.
- Go to Apps and Features in Windows 11 Settings after opening the Settings app.
- Go to Photos app right now, then select Advanced options.
- Your Windows Store app will be reset once the procedure is finished, which could take a few moments.
4. Unlink Onedrive Account Connection
The Photos app is linked to OneDrive and shows pictures from your cloud storage. Although it functions, the main issue is that getting all of the photo previews takes longer than expected.
You should disable OneDrive in Settings if you don’t use it. Because the Photos app by default constantly tries to import from OneDrive.
- Let the Photos app load after opening it.
- Select the Settings icon in the upper left corner.
- Turn off the setting for OneDrive’s icon in photos app.
- Click on the restart. After restarting the app, it should load much more quickly than previously.
Alternatively,
- Select Settings by clicking the three dots in the top-right corner.
- Select C: Users/Name/OneDrive/Pictures by clicking the X.
5. Run Windows Store Apps Troubleshooter
Start the built-in troubleshooter for Microsoft Store apps, which will automatically identify and resolve “windows photos app slow to open” issues with Windows 10 apps.
- Click Troubleshoot after typing troubleshoot into the Windows Start Search box.
- Select Windows Store Apps at the bottom of the page.
- After selecting Run the Troubleshooter, follow the on-screen prompts.
- If any issues with Windows 10 apps are discovered, this will initiate the diagnostic process to address them.
- Restart your computer to see whether the pictures app issue is resolved.
6. Re-Register The Photos App.
- Select PowerShell by doing a right-clicking on the Windows 10 start menu (admin). Powershell window will launch in a new window with administrator rights.
- To delete the Photos application, copy the following command, paste it into PowerShell using the right-click menu, and press Enter.
- get-appxpackage Microsoft.Windows.Photos | remove-appxpackage
- Restart your computer, then launch the PowerShell window (admin).
- Utilize the PowerShell command shown below to instal the Photos app.
- Get-AppxPackage -allusers Microsoft.Windows.Photos | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”
7. Delete The Outdated Registry Keys
- Open the Run dialogue by pressing the hotkeys Windows + R.
- Write regedit, then press Enter.
- Navigate to the following location:
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppModelRepository\Families\Microsoft.VP9VideoExtensions_8wekyb3d8bbwe
- Select Delete by performing a right-click on the registry key Microsoft.VP9VideoExtensions 8wekyb3d8bbwe.
- For each of the previous items, repeat the process.
- Restart the computer.
How can I open an app in Windows Photo Viewer?
- Navigate to Apps > Default Apps in Windows Settings.
- Locate At the bottom of the section, Choose defaults according to file type.
- To open it, click. You can type the image’s extension here to view it in Photo Viewer.
- You can change the default viewer when you click on it after it has appeared in the list.
- Choose Photo Viewer, then make your modifications.
- You can enable Windows Photo Viewer and make it the default photo opener if the issue still exists.