Can’t Open Photos in Windows 11? Try these fixes

Double-clicking photos in Windows 11 can sometimes fail, showing messages like “The specified procedure could not be found,” while the same file may still open in other apps. This shows that the Photos app’s file type setting or start process is broken, stopping it from doing the default action.

The main cause is a Windows 11 update or upgrade breaking the Photos app’s setup, with other factors including damaged files or unsupported metadata.

1. Change Default Application

First, make sure Windows is set to open your images with the correct app. Windows assigns a default app for each file type. If no default is set, Windows may prompt you to choose one, and it’s easy to miss that prompt.

1. First of all, press the Windows key + I on your keyboard to open the Windows Settings window.
2. On the Settings window, click the Apps option on the left-hand side.

   

3. There, click on the Default apps option provided.

   

4. Now, from the list of the applications given, search for the Photos app via the search bar. Then, click on it.
5. On the next page, you will be shown what file types are opened with the Photos app.

   

6. Look for the extension of the image or video you’re trying to open (for example, .jpg, .png, .mp4) and make sure Photos is selected.
7. If it isn’t, click the Choose a default option and then select the Photos app.

   

8. Once you have done that, try opening your picture again to see if the problem is resolved.

2. Run SFC Scan

If photos or videos still won’t open, the issue might be caused by corrupted system files. When Windows system files are damaged, apps may not work properly. You can repair them with a built-in tool called System File Checker (SFC).

1. To start, open an elevated command prompt window. To do that, search for cmd in the Start Menu and then right-click on it. From the drop-down menu, click the Run as administrator option.

   

2. Once the command prompt window is open, type in the following command to start the scan:

   sfc /scannow

   

3. After the scan has completed, run the following command to repair any corruption in the Windows image:

   Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

   

4. Once that is done, try to open a photo again to see if the issue has been fixed.

3. Reset Photos App

In some cases, the issue comes from the Photos app itself. If Photos is having problems, it may not open files at all. Resetting the app clears its data and settings (not your pictures), which often solves the problem.

1. First of all, open the Windows Settings app by pressing Windows key + I.
2. Then, on the left-hand side, click on the Apps option.

   

3. After that, on the Apps screen, click on the Apps and features option.

   

4. There, search for the Photos app via the search bar provided.

   

5. Next to the Microsoft Photos application, click on the three dots and choose Advanced options from the drop-down menu.

   

6. Once you have done that, click on the Reset option to reset the application.

   

7. After that is done, try opening an image to see if the issue persists.
8. In case it does, click on the Repair button to let Windows repair the application.
9. Once done, check if the problem has been resolved.

4. Reinstall Photos App

If none of the methods above worked, the Photos app installation might be damaged. In that case, uninstalling and reinstalling the app should help. You can’t remove Photos from the Settings app, so we’ll use PowerShell and then install it again from Microsoft Store.

1. First of all, open up the Start Menu and search for Powershell. Right-click on the result and choose Run as an administrator from the drop-down menu.

   

2. Then, in the Powershell window, copy and paste the following command to uninstall the Photos app:

   get-appxpackage *Microsoft.Windows.Photos* | remove-appxpackage

3. Once you have done that, open up the Microsoft Store app by searching for it in the Start Menu.

   

4. Search for Microsoft Photos and then install it.
5. After that, try opening an image to see if the issue is still there.