Photos and images not opening on windows 11

Anonymous
2021-10-27T14:18:46+00:00

Ever since I have upgraded to windows 11 I have been having trouble opening image files (.jpg, .jpeg, .png) using the default "Photos" application.

I get the following message: "The specified procedure could not be found"

Weirdly enough, if I right click on the file and use "open with" and chose the default Photos app it works. And if open the file in paint, it opens without any problem. It is only when I double right-click on the file it gives me this error message.

Can anyone help me?

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Performance and system failures

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Anonymous
2021-12-06T21:31:21+00:00

I too had this problem. Don't know what happened but the link between the files and the program stopped working (was fine after upgrade to 11). I tried all of the suggested items below that I could make sense of but none worked for me.

I was at the last thing I could think of, uninstall the program and re-install it. Unfortunately it appears that Microsoft will not let you uninstall this app! It is grayed out!

But in trying to do this I found the fix.

  • Open Settings from the Window menu
  • Select Apps (5th one down) in the left hand menu
  • Select Apps & Features (first one) on right hand menu
  • Do a search or scroll down until you find "Microsoft Photos"
  • Click the 3 dot menu for this item and select Advanced Options
  • Scroll down until you see the option "Reset"
  • There are two options under this; buttons to "Repair" and to "Reset"

Clicking the "Repair" button did the trick for me and I can not double click a photo file and it will open in this app.

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  1. Anonymous
    2022-05-24T19:59:21+00:00

    THe trick you noted does not continue to work after reboot. Given the number of folks with this issue I am surprised that Microsoft has not addressed it.

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  2. Anonymous
    2022-05-24T19:49:01+00:00

    I too had this problem. Don't know what happened but the link between the files and the program stopped working (was fine after upgrade to 11). I tried all of the suggested items below that I could make sense of but none worked for me.

    I was at the last thing I could think of, uninstall the program and re-install it. Unfortunately it appears that Microsoft will not let you uninstall this app! It is grayed out!

    But in trying to do this I found the fix.

    • Open Settings from the Window menu
    • Select Apps (5th one down) in the left hand menu
    • Select Apps & Features (first one) on right hand menu
    • Do a search or scroll down until you find "Microsoft Photos"
    • Click the 3 dot menu for this item and select Advanced Options
    • Scroll down until you see the option "Reset"
    • There are two options under this; buttons to "Repair" and to "Reset"

    Clicking the "Repair" button did the trick for me and I can not double click a photo file and it will open in this app.

    Has MSFT come out with a simpler fix for this problem? This is a major issue for many of us and it is one grea/sad example of why people do not want to upgrade basic software programs.

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    2 people found this answer helpful.
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  3. Anonymous
    2022-05-11T07:35:40+00:00

    I too had this problem. Don't know what happened but the link between the files and the program stopped working (was fine after upgrade to 11). I tried all of the suggested items below that I could make sense of but none worked for me.

    I was at the last thing I could think of, uninstall the program and re-install it. Unfortunately it appears that Microsoft will not let you uninstall this app! It is grayed out!

    But in trying to do this I found the fix.

    • Open Settings from the Window menu
    • Select Apps (5th one down) in the left hand menu
    • Select Apps & Features (first one) on right hand menu
    • Do a search or scroll down until you find "Microsoft Photos"
    • Click the 3 dot menu for this item and select Advanced Options
    • Scroll down until you see the option "Reset"
    • There are two options under this; buttons to "Repair" and to "Reset"

    Clicking the "Repair" button did the trick for me and I can not double click a photo file and it will open in this app.

    This one works for me but I added this steps:

    On Search Bar type %temp% (it will open temporary files) just hit ctrl +A and then delete all

    because after following the steps above still didn't work so I did this additional steps and it work!

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  4. Anonymous
    2022-05-04T21:45:00+00:00

    I tried fixing, it worked temporarily and now does not work again! And these instructions don't work on Windows 11. MS in it's infinite wisdom is making life harder for everyone. How do I fix this permanently?

    I end the File Manager / Explorer task and can open pics fine. Periodically have to do this, especially after rebooting.

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