Windows 10: Windows 11 Photo App sets as desktop background instead of opening

On several occasions the native Photos app has appeared to fail to open a small photo when I double click it. I try it a few more times, and after I give up, I end up back at the desktop and realize that it has instead set that photo as the desktop background, set to fill, so it's a giant pixelated mess. I can manually change it back, but if I try to open those files again, it will set it back again. It has happened with two files at least, and both files were PNG, but it does not affect all PNG files. I have also been able to open one of the problem files successfully today.

:)

 

Photos are opening with Paint instead of Photos app

Hello,

It's likely that your default application for opening photos is Paint. To change your default program in Windows 10 from
Paint to the Photo app, we suggest that you perform the following steps:

• On the Start menu, select Settings.
  
• Go to System, then go to Default apps.
  
• Select Photos or any app that you like to be the default under
  Photo viewer.

Update us if the steps above helped you in resolving your concern.

 

Photos app hogging resources in background

Ian, this suggestion was posted on my other thread:

We understand that not all of users are using the Photos app on Windows 10, if not very often. If you don't want this app to be running on background when not in use, there is a way you can turn this
off. Kindly follow the steps provided below:

• In Cortana, type Privacy Settings
  and press Enter.
• Look for Background apps.
• Look for Photos in the list.
• Flip the switch to Off.
• Restart your computer.

After you restart your computer, you can check if the Photos app is still running in background. You can use these steps to turn off any running background applications as it is not limited to Photos
app alone. In this way, you can conserve a lot of power and process allowance.

I just followed these instructions, and now have to wait to see if it works. I'm hoping it solves your problem, too!

 

Custom desktop background that updates daily

Hi,

We loved your suggestion to have a a background with a countdown for an specified date. We can consider this suggestion for future updates. To give you another option, we suggest to use Windows spotlight instead. Kindly follow the steps below to configure
it:

• Open Settings app.
• Click on Personalization
• Click on Lockscreen tab at the left panel.
• Under Background, select Windows spotlight.
• Under Choose an app to show detailed status, select
  Calendar app icon.

Note: Please make sure that you are logged in to Calendar app where the appointments was set.

Let us know if you have further assistance.