this file format is unsupported or the file is damaged error message after Windows RT 8.1 upgrade

Anonymous
2013-10-18T23:14:42+00:00

After I upgraded my Surface RT 64/gb to Windows RT 8.1, the photo app no longer recognizes the file format of jpegs!  You CAN see the photos within the photo app, and browse thru them. The photo app tile, however, will not display any pics whatsoever (it did just great BEFORE the upgrade).  If you try to set a static tile photo, it tells you that "this file format is unsupported or the file is damaged"!  THIS EVEN HAPPENS IF YOU TAKE A PIC WITH THE BUILT-IN CAMERA AND TRY TO USE IT FROM THE CAMERA ROLL -  It still says that the photo format is unsupported or damaged!

Interestingly, even though you cannot assign a photo to the Photo tile, you CAN set that photo as a lock screen photo.  So, therefore, it seems that this issue is only with the Photo App.

Also, after the upgrade, the "Turn Live Tiles On/Off" option is now missing.  You can only resize the photo app tile or "unpin" from start menu.

Mircrosoft PLEASE FIX THIS

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Music, photos, and video

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Anonymous
2013-10-21T18:20:45+00:00

Hi Lyle,

The issue you are hitting with file is an unsupported format is a known issue.  We are working to get a fix out to windows update.  It tends to be intermittent, if you shut down and restart the app it sometimes goes away.  Try doing this from Task Manager -> select Photos -> End Task

The ability to set as static tile is also available in 8.1.  You can either find a picture and click on "set as" -> "photos tile".  Alternatively, you can also swipe the right side->click "settings"->"options"->"shuffle photos on the photos tile" ->"off".

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  1. Anonymous
    2013-10-22T23:21:14+00:00

    Cary - I can see them as picture thumbnails within the photo app, and can open them to full screen, edit and save the changes.  EVEN AFTER I SAVE AN EDITED PHOTO, THE SYSTEM STILL WILL NOT RECOGNIZE IT AS A SUPPORTED FORMAT if I try to select it as a tile photo.  BUT, it does allow me to select the pic as a lock screen photo!  They are All Jpegs. 

    I get the "damaged or unsupported format" error message all the time when I try to save any of them (including the pics on the camera roll) as a tile photo.  Of course, the photo app live tile function doesn't work either (the live tiles on/off button isn't even displayed)

    In explorer, as thumbnails, they do not display the actual photo, but a photo app symbol.  I do not get any error messages when opening them in explorer - and they open just fine.

    And again, this happened only AFTER I installed the RT 8.1 upgrade - eveything was fine under 8.0!

    Hope this helps

    Lyle

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  2. Anonymous
    2013-10-23T17:11:04+00:00

    Hi Stef,

    Have you also been seeing the "damaged or unsupported format" error when opening photos in the Photos app?  If so, have you been seeing it some of the time or all of the time?

    -Cary

    Yes, but I have a precious advice, I DID A REFRESH and all now works fine, it took about 25 minutes.

    Tell him to try to do a REFRESH to the other person who has this problem and see if it also works for him.

    Yes, I had also the Photo damaged problem when I took a picture with the camera.

    Now everything works right, both the Tile with my picture and the photos taken with the camera.

    I only have to configure all system settings again and Outlook from scratch but it's ok now.

    :D

    P.S.: the first time in Photo app after the refresh it said that there were no pictures, I exited and entered again once or twice the Photo app and it found them and then I set the Tile app and all was right.

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  3. Anonymous
    2013-10-23T17:41:42+00:00

    Stef - I'll try that when I get home tonite - but I don't have much hope for that solution. 

    I did more than just a refresh yesterday - I completely wiped clean my hard drive and restored my Surface RT to Windows RT 8.0 and THEN did a new reinstall of Windows RT 8.1

    Still having the same problems.

    Lyle

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  4. Anonymous
    2013-10-23T18:14:45+00:00

    Stef - I'll try that when I get home tonite - but I don't have much hope for that solution. 

     

    I did more than just a refresh yesterday - I completely wiped clean my hard drive and restored my Surface RT to Windows RT 8.0 and THEN did a new reinstall of Windows RT 8.1

     

    Still having the same problems.

     

    Lyle

    Hi, I celebrated too soon, lol. After turning the Surface off and on again it all went back as before, I have a tile set but I can't set pictures again and it says that the pictures from the Camera app are damaged...

    That's strange.

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