How to fix "Windows Photo Gallery has stopped working" ?

Anonymous
2008-12-26T16:44:42+00:00

Windows photo gallery is one of several programs I use while working with my photo files and I find it useful, is some instances more than the expensive programs. But it has stopped working and I'm looking for a fix, preferably without having to reinstall the operating system and having to reload everything on my hard drive. Anyone have any suggestions? I can still open files and edit them, just can't "go to the gallery".

Thanks

Windows for home | Other | Music, photos, and video

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Anonymous
2008-12-31T11:37:08+00:00

Hi Photofan,

Do you have another user account that you can try Windows Photo Gallery and see if you get the same error message?  If you do try it with another account and don't get the message try going through the following steps and see if it resolves your issue.

    1. Click the Start orb

    2. Type folder options in the Start Search box, and click the Folder Options program

    3. Select the View tab

    4. In the Advanced Settings window, underneath Hidden files and folders, select Show hidden files and folders

    5.  Click OK

    6.  Navigate to the following folder ( %user% is the name of the account having the problem):

    C:\Users%user%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Photo Gallery

    7.  Copy any files in here to another location as a back up and then delete them from the Windows Photo Gallery directory

Once the files are deleted, try to start Windows Photo Gallery.

After that go back in to folder options and select Do not show hidden files and folders

Let us know if you have any other problems.  Thank you

Shane

Microsoft Answers Support Engineer

Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-02-19T21:55:13+00:00

    When I enter the string under item 6 I receive file not found

    Lowell

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-01-29T16:55:07+00:00

    Hi Photofan,

    Do you have another user account that you can try Windows Photo Gallery and see if you get the same error message?  If you do try it with another account and don't get the message try going through the following steps and see if it resolves your issue.

        1. Click the Start orb

        

        2. Type folder options in the Start Search box, and click the Folder Options program

        

        3. Select the View tab

        

        4. In the Advanced Settings window, underneath Hidden files and folders, select Show hidden files and folders

        

        5.  Click OK

       

        6.  Navigate to the following folder ( %user% is the name of the account having the problem):

        C:\Users%user%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Photo Gallery

        7.  Copy any files in here to another location as a back up and then delete them from the Windows Photo Gallery directory

            

    Once the files are deleted, try to start Windows Photo Gallery.

    After that go back in to folder options and select Do not show hidden files and folders

    Let us know if you have any other problems.  Thank you

    Shane

    Microsoft Answers Support Engineer

    Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

    Hi Shane, brilliant. Others had complicated solutions involving installing new programs and doing complicated stuff... Your solution was very simple, easy to remember and it worked! I was getting worried I may have to update my OS, which I want to do, but cannot afford to do :(

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  3. Anonymous
    2013-08-11T19:20:54+00:00

    my photo gallery does not work . it stops all the pictures on my PC

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  4. Anonymous
    2013-06-25T03:34:59+00:00

    Check to see if you have hotfix KB2670838 installed, or IE10.  They killed my WLPG, Movie Maker, WL Mail, and Firefox.  Uninstalling that one hotfix reverted me back to IE9 but eveything came back and works great.  I did have to reconfigure my Mail and the photo database is rebuilding but it can see RAW photos and it does not shut down at startup any more.

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