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 Windows OS Hub / Windows 10 / Fix: Photos App in Windows 10 Opens Extremely Slow

December 20, 2019 Windows 10

Fix: Photos App in Windows 10 Opens Extremely Slow

Many users note that when viewing any image in the new built-in Photos app in Windows 10, it takes a long time to open. The delay when starting Photos UWP app may be 10-30 seconds and even up to several minutes. If the Photos application is already running, other images open in it instantaneously. It means that the “Photos” starts slowly only when first launch.

Windows 10 also has the classical Windows Photo Viewer application, but it is disabled by default. Most users just enable the old app to view images using the REG file (see the article How to restore the Windows Photo Viewer on Windows 10?).

If you still want to use the built-in modern Photos app to view images, you can improve its performance using the following tips.

The problem of the slow first launch of Photos is in its default settings. When starting, the Photos app tries to synchronize the image with your OneDrive account in order to make it easier for you to share it with your friends. Also, hardware acceleration is enabled by default in your app independent of whether your computer supports it.

So, to launch the Photos application in Windows 10 more quickly:

  1. Open its settings (three dots in the top right -> Settings)
    Photos app settings in Windows 10
  2. Disable the Microsoft OneDrive and People (off) in the Photos Settings.
    photos - disable onedrive and peole features
  3. In the Video section, disable the hardware acceleration: Use hardware-accelerated video encoding = off. photos - disable hardware-accelerated video encoding

Close Photos and try to start it again. This time it should launch much faster.

If it did not help, try to reset Photos data and settings:

  1. Open Settings -> Apps -> Apps & features;
  2. ,Find “Microsoft Photos” In the list of apps and open its Advanced options;microsoft photos advanced options
  3. On the next screen click the Reset button. All settings and app data will be reset. reset photos app

If the reset did not help, you can try to remove Photos using PowerShell:

Get-AppxPackage *Photos* | Remove-AppxPackage

Then go to Microsoft Store (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/microsoft-photos/9wzdncrfjbh4) and reinstall the Microsoft Photos from scratch.

reinstall microsoft photos app from store

You can restore the removed UWP app using the following command:

Get-AppxPackage -allusers Microsoft.Windows.Photos | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}

If the classic Photo Viewer in Windows 10 flips through images rather slowly, it may relate to the load of the bad color profile. Try to use another color profile for your screen.

  1. Run the command: colorcpl.exe
  2. In the Devices tab, select your monitor and check the option Use my settings for this device;
  3. Click Add, add a profile from the ICC Profiles list (e. g. sRGB IEC61966-2.1) and click OK; change monitor color profile from ICC Profiles to sRGB IEC61966-2.1
  4. Select a new profile and click Set as Default Profile
  5. After that you will be able to move through the photos quickly.
If neither Photos, nor Windows Photo Viewer suit you, you can install and use an alternative app to view images in Windows 10, for example, IrfanView, FastStone Image Viewer, etc.

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12 comments

Marcel October 9, 2020 - 7:52 am

Thanks a lot!

Reply
Terry October 28, 2020 - 8:12 pm

Thanks for the advise. I did all of it and it opens faster. It couldn’t have bee any slower. Are there any short cuts once the program is running. Like to brighten a picture with a key stroke etc.?

Reply
Jamshed K November 18, 2020 - 7:15 am

Thanks, dude… it’s working…

Reply
Isaac November 19, 2020 - 3:31 pm

Great article, Worked instantly, Photos now opens super fast! Thanks

Reply
Nani November 23, 2020 - 9:27 pm

Thankssssssssssss 🙂 that colorcpl.exe thing sorted my slow image loading problem as well

Reply
John December 22, 2020 - 8:03 am

Many Thanks,
The Repair option worked for me.
( I did all the steps & there was no difference until I used the repair option)
( Photos was taking 30 seconds or more to open one small image)

Reply
Romesh Etulgama December 26, 2020 - 1:57 am

Thanks a lot. It works well now. Have been suffering from this for years. Thanks again.

Reply
Darkussnul February 11, 2021 - 7:56 am

Thanks a lot bro!
I’m so thankful I found this. My main problem is when I open photos using photos, it delays so much and even closes sometimes.

Reply
Mukesh March 15, 2021 - 11:49 pm

Just Brilliant !!! Been struggling with win 10 slowness for ages… Photos was one of them.
Many thanks

Reply
AZ April 26, 2021 - 6:05 pm

Nice! I had problems, but it’s ok now. Thank you very much for your perfect 👌 site!

Reply
David Armitage July 6, 2021 - 3:29 am

Thanks, finally some advice that works! Awesome tips. 😁

Reply
Emilio Navarro November 23, 2021 - 2:19 pm

Thank you. Your advice made my “Photos” usable.

Reply

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