Windows Photo Viewer Can’t Open This Picture

Best 4 Methods to Fix Windows Photo Viewer Can’t Open This Picture

We all like to spend hours looking at the thousands of photos and pictures stored on our PCs. However, many of us use the Microsoft Windows default application known as Windows Photo Viewer. While this is a great application with the basic functions of viewing an image, many users encounter the error "Windows Photo Viewer cannot open this image". If your photos aren't open on Windows 10, the blog will help you get through the process.


Using a different image viewer doesn't solve the problem "Windows Photo Viewer can't open this image" because it only provides one option. But if you have something you want to quickly identify, I suggest you open some images in a browser app like Images or other images like Paint 3D, Snip & Sketch, Photos, or Google Chrome. Here are the steps to try it in an emergency:

Best 4 Methods to Fix Windows Photo Viewer Can’t Open This Picture
Methods to Fix Windows Photo Viewer Can’t Open This Picture


Step 1: Right click on the image and select Open from context menu.

Step 2: You can select another app from the list that appears or click Choose another app to select the executable file of the app not listed here.

Step 3: If you do not have the appropriate app, click on "Search Microsoft Store" from the Open With menu option and install an app from Microsoft Store.

But this is only a temporary option, and if you want to resolve the "Windows Photo Viewer can't open this image" issue, follow the steps outlined below.


1. Update the photo viewer

Provides regular updates to fix Windows OS bugs and fixes other issues by introducing new features. If you encounter problems with the operating systems of any of Microsoft's default apps, you can update them. Here are the steps:

Step 1: Press Windows + I on the keyboard to open the Windows Settings box.

Step 2: Click Update and Security from the list of options.

Step 3: Finally, click the Check for Updates button and wait for the process to finish.

Once the process is complete, manually reboot a manual and check if the error of not opening photos in Windows 10 has been resolved.


2. Turn off encryption

If photos are imported from a lot of your devices, there are some apps and devices that encrypt the image. If for some reason the images are encrypted, it is quite possible that Windows Photo Viewer may not be able to open them. Here are the steps to solve this problem:

Step 1: Right click on the image and select Properties from the context menu.

Step 2: On the General tab, click Advanced Options.

Step 3: Now uncheck the box next to "Encrypt content to protect data"

Step 4: Click OK and restart Windows Photo Viewer and check that Windows 10 Photos has not been opened.


3. Repair the image

Another reason for not opening some images in Windows Photo Viewer is because the image is corrupted. In this case, you must first repair the image using image repair software. Many applications repair images but they have different features. One such complete tool is Stellar Photo Repair which can repair JPEG and RAW images straight from the camera. This app fixes broken, pixelated, grainy, and very band images.


4. Convert to different formats

Windows Photo Viewer is not a great application for viewing photos but it does not support some unusual photo formats. This is why the app displays the "Windows Photo Viewer can't open this image" error when opening some images. You can use any online photo converter to convert images to simple formats like JPEG, BMP, PNG TIFF, etc.

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