Windows 10: Windows 11: Pay attention to the Windows Photos App - it may be slowing down your PC

Many Windows users use the Microsoft Photos app to view images and videos. The main reason for that is simple: it is the default app for media on Windows. When you click on an image or a video, it may open in the Photos app by default.

Microsoft has made changes to the Photos app on Windows 11 recently. For one, it migrated the Photos app from UWP to Windows App SDK. Microsoft furthermore began to add AI features to the app, similarly to how it added AI to other parts of the operating system.

Some users are also reporting that the Photos app is autostarting with Windows 11. I could not verify this on Windows 11 version 24H2 devices, but maybe that is something that Microsoft is still testing or rolling out gradually to test reactions.



Good to know: the change happened in June for Insiders. Microsoft has started to update the app on stable versions of Windows 11. It also announced that the updated version will come to Windows 10 devices as well.

The change landed in version 2024.11050.3002.0 of the Photos app. You can check the version by opening the Microsoft Photos app on your device and selecting Settings. The version is displayed under "about" at the bottom of the page that opens.

The two main issues that (some) users of the new photos app experienced are:

• The app is set to autostart with the operating system. This slows down the start of the PC.
• The app takes longer to launch.

Launching the Photos app on start of the system may be beneficial to users, who use it regularly. It is problematic for users who do not use it at all. The main reason for that is that it slows down the start of the Windows system without having any use when the system is running.

How to stop the Photos app from launching with Windows


No Photos app listed under Startup, but it may be different on your device.

You may use built-in admin tools to check the startup state of the Photos app. Here is how that is done:

1. Select Start.
2. Open the Settings app.
3. Go to Apps > Startup.
4. Look for Photos.
5. Toggle Photos to Off.

This prevents the autostart of the app with Windows 11. This does not affect any functionality for users who do not use the app. Those who do may notice a slower startup when they first launch the app on the system.

You may also use the best startup manager Autoruns to deal with Photos and any other app that may have sneaked its way into the autostart settings.

Also good to know: you can still install the Microsoft Photos Legacy app on Windows. It is has been replaced by the new app, but is still available.

There are alternatives


Tip: If you're looking for alternatives, consider lightweight photo viewers like IrfanView or FastStone Image Viewer. They might not have all the bells and whistles, but they'll do the job without bogging down your system

Remember, keeping an eye on your startup apps is a smart way to maintain your computer's performance. It's often the quiet, background processes that can have the biggest impact on your system's speed.

When you upgrade your system to Windows 11 version 24H2, you may want to check the autostart entries just to make sure no app that you do not want to start with the system added itself to the list.

Have you noticed any other sneaky resource-heavy apps on your system? Share your experiences and tips in the comments below!

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Windows 11: Pay attention to the Windows Photos App - it may be slowing down your PC appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

read more...

 

Photo app in Windows 10 is extremely slow

Rebuilding the search index in your computer may help speed-up the loading of photos in the app. The search index is like a directory of files and media in your computer. Follow the steps below:

• Click Start.
• On the search bar, type Indexing Options, and click on Indexing Options from the results.
• Click Advanced.
• Under Troubleshooting, click Rebuild.

We also suggest that you download and install any pending updates that needs to be installed on the computer through Windows Update and check if it helps resolve the issue.

If the issue persists, you may reinstall the Photos app. For steps on how to uninstall and reinstall the Photos app, follow the steps provided by Anil Madishetty on this thread:

Why won't my Photos app load on Windows 10.

Let us know if you need further assistance.

 

WINDOWS 10 MICROSOFT PHOTO APP

Hello,

Welcome to Microsoft Community.

The Photos app brings together pictures from all your devices using OneDrive, so that you can browse them by date, album or folder. It also automatically enhances photos, and creates albums for you, to showcase your best shots.

I suggest you to follow the methods below and check if it helps:

Method 1:

I suggest you to change the Default apps in the setting app and verify the result. You may follow the steps in the below:

• Go to settings and system.
  
• Click on Default Apps and select the appropriately.
  

Method 2:

I suggest you to reinstall Photo app using the PowerShell command
and reinstall using the Windows store. Follow the below steps.

• Open the　Start　menu, type　Windows PowerShell　in the search bar.
  
• Right click on the　Windows　PowerShell　and select　Run as　administrator.
  
• Enter the below command to uninstall the Photo app.
  

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

More reference:

Get help with Microsoft Photos app - Microsoft Support

Hope this helps. If the issue remains unresolved, please get back to us and we would be happy to help.

• 
  

 

The Windows 10 "Photos" App is really slow.

Hi,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums



We understand your concern as the Photo app is responding slow, while accessing the photos from the backup location.



In order to get clarity and to assist you accordingly, please reply with the answers to the questions below.

• Where are these pictures saved/backed up?
  
• Do you face the lag issue when accessing pictures that are saved on desktop/Pictures folder in C drive?

Try copying few pictures randomly on the desktop folder and access them using the Photo app. If you still face the same issue, then reset Photos app and check.

1. Press Windows + I key to launch
   Windows settings.
   
2. Click on Apps and select
   Apps & feature from the left pane.
   
3. Scroll down and select
   Photos App on the right pane.
   
4. Click on Advanced option and then click on
   Reset.
   
5. Restart the PC and check.

We appreciate your interest on Photo Viewer app, this could be a valuable suggestion as there may be other users with a similar requirement. Hence, I suggest you to leave a

Feedback for this product so that our developer team can look into this and check if it can be implemented in the future updates.



Let us know how it goes.



Aditya Roy

Microsoft Community – Moderator