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

Anonymous

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

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Anonymous

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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46 additional answers

Anonymous

2013-10-22T23:12:13+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
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Anonymous

2013-10-22T23:10:35+00:00

Hi Lyle,

Just to clarify, do you see the "damaged or unsupported format" error some of the time or all of the time? Have you seen any photos full screen (after tapping their thumbnails in the app open them) in the Photos app at all since upgrading to 8.1, or has it only been this error?

It sounds to me like you have ~20 local pictures somewhere in your Pictures folder and ~2 pictures in your Pictures\Camera Roll folder which you took on your Surface using the Camera app. It also sounds like these are all JPEGs. Is this correct?

Do you also see the "damaged or unsupported format" error when double clicking a photo in Explorer on the desktop?

-Cary
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Anonymous

2013-10-22T22:24:09+00:00

Cary - I reinstalled the Windows 8.1 upgrade today and still having the same problem. Even pics taken with the Surface camera (on the camera roll) are seen as damaged or in an unsupported file format!

I went to the C:\Users\your_user_name\AppData\Local\Packages\FileManager_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState folder (as you requested) and the ONLY file in there is the PhotosSessionState.dat file - nothing else.

Yet, I have 2 pics in the camera roll and 20 pics in another folder in the photo app.

Thanks for any help you can give me!

Lyle
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Anonymous

2013-10-22T15:45:19+00:00

I tried it on a Surface 2 in a store with Windows RT 8.1 and it works.

So it's an upgrade glitch, you have to understand what does the 8.0 to 8.1 upgrade do wrong and restore the functionality.

You should know better.
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