Fix slow image viewing on Windows 10

Windows 10 uses the Photos feature to open image files by default instead of Windows Photos Viewer like previous versions of Windows. While users are still not really familiar with this new Photos, TipsMake.com will show you how to quickly open and view photos with Windows Photos Viewer on Windows 10!

1. Note:

If you do the work upgrade from Windows 7/8.1 to Windows 10 then the system will display the option Windows Photo Viewer as an application to open and view photos, but if you choose to install Windows 10 directly, you will not be able to find it Windows Photos Viewer on the system.

We can simply deduce that Microsoft has “retired” the Windows Photos Viewer application (this application has been around for a long time, from the time of Windows XP or 2000, or before) and instead it’s a fairly new and strange Photos feature. If you grope inside Settings > System > Default apps will also not be able to see:

Or when you check in Control Panel > Default Programs > Set Default Programs > Windows Photos Viewer then you will only see that this application supports 2 image formats, *.tif and *.tiff:

Another point that makes users feel “nostalgic” for Windows Photos Viewer is that the startup speed is much faster than Photos. Or if you accidentally double-click an image file, the system may open both image viewing windows and lead to a slow computer. So what’s the fix here?

2. “Revive” Windows Photos Viewer on Windows 10:

All you need to do here is download the *.reg file of Activate Windows Photo Viewer on Windows 10 to your computer:

Unzip and run that *.reg file to fully activate the features of Windows Photo Viewer on Windows 10:

Click OK to apply the change. Then check again by opening any image file (*.jpg or *.png are ok), right-click on the image file > Open With > Choose another app > Windows Photos Viewer:

And here is our result, the familiar look of Windows Photos Viewer:

Windows Photos Viewer on Windows 10

For you, after running the *.reg file above but still don’t see the option Windows Photo Viewer then because your account is in User rights, merge file *.reg into the system has no effect. To fix this error, please logout and log in to an account with Administrator rights, run the *.reg file again and then log in to the account you are using.

Good luck!