8 Proven Solutions to Fix the Photos App Crashing Issue on Windows 10/11

How to fix the Photos app crashing issue on Windows 10? Every time I try to load a photo on my computer, the app crashes and I can't view any image!

As a friend of mine asked me this, I realized that a lot of other Windows users also encounter a similar issue. Chances are that while loading any image, the Photos app on Windows can become unresponsive and even crash. The good news is that this is an avoidable situation and can easily be fixed. Here, I will let you know the common reasons behind it and would provide 8 stepwise solutions to fix the photos app crashing issue on Windows 10/11.

In this article

01 Why Does the Photos App Keep Crashing on Windows 10/11?

02 Proven Solutions to Fix the Photos App Crashing Issue on Windows 10/11

03 Fix the Photos App Crashing Issue Caused by Corrupted Photos on Windows 10/11

Part 1: Why Does the Photos App Keep Crashing on Windows 10/11?

Ideally, there could be several reasons related to the app, firmware, or even your data that can lead to this issue. Before we try to fix the problem with the Photos app, let's try to identify its key causes.

Part 2: Proven Solutions to Fix the Photos App Crashing Issue on Windows 10/11

Now when you know the common reasons for the problem with the Photos app in Windows 10, let's learn how to fix it.

Solution 1: Update the Photos app

One of the major reasons for this issue is an old or outdated Photos app that could be running on your system. Therefore, the easiest way to fix the Photos app crashing issue on Windows 10 would be updating the app.

To do this, you can just look for Microsoft Store from the search bar and launch it. Now, click on the three-dot icon from the top-right corner and select the 'Downloads and Updates' section.

This will display a list of all the Windows 10 apps that are available for an update. Just make sure that the Photos app is present here and click on the 'Get Updates' button from the top.

Now, you can just wait for a while as the Photos app would be updated on your Windows 10 PC.

Solution 2: Run the Windows Troubleshooter

Microsoft also offers an inbuilt troubleshooting option in Windows to fix any issue with its apps and firmware. Therefore, you can simply take the assistance of the inbuilt troubleshooter to fix the Photos app.

Just go to the Start menu from the taskbar and click on the gear icon to open its Settings. Navigate to Settings > Update and Security > Troubleshoot and click on the 'Additional Troubleshooters' feature.

As the extensive list of various troubleshooters would be launched, scroll down, and click on the 'Windows Store Apps' feature. You can now follow a simple click-through wizard to fix Photos or any other Windows Store app.

Solution 3: Switch the Default Option to Windows Photo Viewer

A lot of people don't know this, but Windows also offers another application – Photo Viewer, to help us view our photos easily. Since it is a lightweight application, chances are that it might not crash, unlike the Photos app.

To change the default photo viewer on your system, just go to its Settings from the Start menu. Now, go to the Apps section and select the Default Apps field from the sidebar. Click on the Photo Viewer option and change the default app to Windows Photo Viewer instead of the Photos app.

Furthermore, if your Windows Photo Viewer Can't Open This Picture? Get Solutions Here.

Solution 4: Reset or Repair the Photos App

A corrupt Photos app is another prominent reason for getting this issue that can easily be fixed. When we reset the Photos app, its cache and other temporary files are deleted that can fasten up the process.

You can also do the same by launching the Settings on your PC and go to its Apps and Features section. Now, search for the Photos app here, select it, and click on its 'Advanced Options' for it.

As the advanced options would be launched, scroll down a little and click on the 'Reset' option. Besides that, there is also an option to repair the Photos app from here.

Solution 5: Restore Default Libraries for Photos

Apart from resetting the app, you can also restore the default library for Photos. In case a lot of data has been accumulated in your system, then it can corrupt the stored libraries.

To fix the Photos app crashing issue on Windows 10, you can go to Windows Explorer and right-click on the left panel to show Library. From here, right-click the Pictures library to go to its properties and choose to restore libraries to their default value.

Solution 6: Reinstall the Photos App on Windows 10

Another tried-and-tested solution involves reinstalling the Photos app on Windows 10. Since Photos is an inbuilt app in Windows 10, you need to make an extra effort to uninstall it.

To uninstall the Photos app, you can just go to the search option from the taskbar, look for PowerShell, and open it. Once the PowerShell window is launched, enter the following command to uninstall the Photos app.

Get-AppxPackage *Microsoft.Windows.Photos* | Remove-AppxPackage

That's it! Once it is uninstalled, you can launch Windows Store, look for the Photos app, and click on the 'Get' or 'Install' button to reinstall it.

Solution 7: Register the Photos App on Windows Store Again

Chances are that the Photos app might not be configured properly on your Windows 10 PC. In this case, you can learn to fix the Photos app crashing issue on Windows 10 by registering the app again.

At first, you can go to the Start prompt on your system and launch the Command Prompt as an administrator. Once the Command Prompt is launched, just enter the following command that would re-register the Photos app on Windows Store.

PowerShell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Command "& {$manifest = (Get-AppxPackage *Photos*).InstallLocation + '\AppxManifest.xml' ; Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $manifest}"

If you encounter Windows Store error 0x80246019, click it to fix it.

Part 3: Fix the Photos App Crashing Issue Caused by Corrupted Photos on Windows 10/11

As I have listed above, the issue can also happen if your photos are damaged or corrupted. To fix the Photos app crashing issue on Windows 10 because of this, you can consider repairing your images instead. You can take the assistance of Wondershare Repairit to fix all kinds of minor or major issues with your photos.

Wondershare Repairit is a DIY solution that can fix numerous issues with your photos (like missing header, pixelated images, pictures not loading, and more). It features two different repairing modes (Quick and Advanced) that would yield positive results in all scenarios.

Wondershare Repairit - Photo Repair

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1,010,994 people have downloaded it.

• Repair damaged photos with all levels of corruption, such as grainy photos, dark photos, pixelated photos, faded photos, etc.

• Repair images of diverse formats, such as JPG, JPEG, PNG, CR3, CR2, NEF, NRW, etc.

• Repair critically damaged or corrupted photos available on SD cards, phones, cameras, USB flash drives, and more.

• The "AI Image Upscaler" feature can enlarge the repaired photos to 2X, 4X, and 8X.

• No limit to the number and size of the repairable photos compared with the online version of Repairit.

• Support Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista, Windows Server 2003/2008/2012/2016/2019/2022, and macOS 10.10~macOS 14.

Step 1: Load the corrupt photos on Repairit

To start with, just launch Wondershare Repairit on your Windows PC and go to the "Photo Repair" feature in the "More Types Repair". You can now click on the Add button to manually load the photos you are not able to open.

The application will display details about the loaded pictures here.

Step 2: Repair your corrupt photos (and preview the results)

Simply click on the 'Repair' button to start the process. Wait for a while and let Repairit fix your photos. Once the Quick Repair process is completed, you will be notified.

Afterward, you can click on the Preview button or the eye icon to check the results of the photo repairing process.

If the photos were severely corrupted, then you can opt for the Advanced Repair feature instead. You can find the Advanced Repair option adjacent to the photo thumbnail or the at the bottom panel of the interface.

To perform an Advanced Repair, you would be asked to load a sample image (that must of the same format as the corrupt photo and shot on the same device). Once the Advanced Repair process is completed, the application will let you know (it will take more time than the Quick Repair mode).

Step 3: Export the repaired photos from Repairit

After getting a preview of the photo repairing results, you can click on the 'Save' button. Now, Repairit will launch a browser window, letting you save your photos to any location on your PC.

Following this approach, you can save multiple corrupt photos on your system without any issue.

Besides, here is an video tutorial for you:

Final Words

That's a wrap, everyone! I'm sure that after following these 8 tried-and-tested methods, fixing the Photos app crashing issue on Windows 10 can be pretty easy. As you can see, I have included all kinds of options to fix the Photos app or firmware-related issues in this post. Though, if your photos are damaged or corrupted, then a tool like Wondershare Repairit would be the best solution. A reliable DIY application, it can fix all kinds of issues with your damaged photos by providing the best feasible results.