The Photos app on Windows 10 isn’t one of the most optimized of apps around. It takes ages to launch, lags while loading photos, and even renders certain images incorrectly. The app also crashes to make matters worse, either randomly or repeatedly when performing routine tasks such as editing and printing.
First lets try sorting out Photos. Open Start Settings Apps Apps & features Scroll down to Photos then select it Click Advanced options Click Reset Restart your computer the check if Photos is working again. If not, you need to check the store for updates. First, try these options to fix the store app. Using the Mac Photos app. The Photos app on your Mac is the easiest place to download your photos from iCloud. Open Photos and then follow these steps. 1) Select the Library or Album where the photos you want are located. 2) Click one at a time while pressing Command to select several photos, or click Command + A to select them all.
If the Photos app keeps giving you grief, don’t worry. There are a handful of troubleshooting tips that you can go through and get it to function correctly. So without any further ado, let’s check them out.
Important: The following troubleshooting methods involve resetting and reinstalling the Photos app. Before you begin, back up your custom albums and video projects to OneDrive so you won't lose them — to do that, open an album or project and click Save in OneDrive.Also on Guiding Tech
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Read MoreTerminate, Repair, or Reset App
Usually, the Photos app crashes due to several common reasons such as glitched out system processes, an old data cache, or corrupted program files. Thankfully, Windows 10 offers a range of options that you can use to fix all these issues easily.
Step 1: Open the Action Center and click All Settings.
Step 2: In the Settings app, click Apps.
Step 3: Scroll down the Apps & Features panel and then click on Microsoft Photos. Next, click Advanced Options.
Step 4: On the subsequent screen, you should see options to terminate, reset, and repair the Photos app.
Start by terminating the app — that should stop all processes related it. Check if the Photos app works without crashing now.
If it still crashes, then you need to repair the app by fixing any corrupted files that stop it from functioning properly. You should have the Photos app ready to go within a couple of minutes, so do check if the issue persists after the repair.
If repairing the app doesn’t do the trick, consider resetting it to remove all data stored within its cache. An app reset also reverts the app to its default settings, thus resolving issues caused by improper configuration. Once again, I'd recommend you to take a back up of your albums and video projects to OneDrive before you go ahead.
After the reset, the Photos app requires signing back into your Microsoft Account, but it should most likely work fine now. However, you may have to dive into the Photos app's Settings panel to re-configure certain preferences such as the default color mode.
Still facing issues? Let’s see what you can do next if that's the case.
Reinstall App
Since repairing or resetting the Photos app didn’t do the trick, it’s time to remove the app and reinstall it from scratch. That should help resolve any underlying issues that you can't fix by normal means. However, built-in Windows apps cannot be uninstalled like other programs. Instead, you need to rely on Windows PowerShell to do the job.
Remember: Back up your custom albums and video projects to OneDrive before proceeding.Step 1: Type PowerShell into the Start menu and then click Open.
Step 2: Type the following code into the PowerShell window and press Enter:
It should take only a moment to remove the Photos app. Exit PowerShell and restart your PC.
Step 3: Open the Windows Store, search for Microsoft Photos, and click Install to get it back on your PC.
Step 4: Once you finish reinstalling the Photos app, click the Launch option on the Action Center to open it. You’ll be signed into the app automatically, and provided that you took the trouble to back up your albums and other projects to OneDrive, everything should be just as they were before.
So, is the Photos app much stable now? If not, then let's look at some other options.
Re-register Photos App
Another viable fix to get the Photos app to work properly is to re-register the app with your user account. Any issues caused by conflicts between the app and your Windows user account should be resolved soon afterward. The Command Prompt console should help you do that easily.
Step 1: Open the Start menu, type cmd, and click Run as Administrator.
Step 2: Type the following command line into the Command Prompt console, and then press Enter:
Exit the Command Prompt console once the re-registration procedure finishes.
Did that fix the Photos app? If not, move on.
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Read MoreUpdate Windows 10
Since you’ve gone over multiple troubleshooting techniques already and nothing worked, it’s time to find out if your copy of Windows is up to date. Usually, new updates contain fixes for issues that standard troubleshooting can't resolve. While Windows 10 is set to update itself automatically, it's always best to double-check.
Type Windows Update into the Start menu and press Enter. On the Windows Update panel, click Check for Updates — if new updates are available, Windows 10 should start to install them automatically. If your PC runs into any issues, check our in-depth Windows Update troubleshooting guide for more details on what you can do next.
Warning: Refrain from going out of your way to install Windows updates — such as using the Windows 10 Update Assistant, for example. Forcibly installing new updates (specifically version updates), can actually do more harm than good, and you should wait until updates are certified for your PC's hardware configuration.If new updates were found and installed, give the Photos app a spin to see if it doesn't crash anymore.
Switch to Windows Photo Viewer
If the Photos app still crashes often, then there’s nothing much that you can do except wait it out until Microsoft releases an update to fix the issue. However, considering how long the Photos app has been causing trouble for various PC configurations, you can’t really hold up much hope now, can you?
Meanwhile, why not switch to another app for your photo viewing purposes? We’ve compiled a fine list of alternatives that you can readily switch to. If you don't like third-party apps, you can always go back to using Windows Photo Viewer — yes, the default photo viewer that was present in Windows 7 and previous versions.
Step 1: Download the following registry file from the Ten Forums website.
Download Windows Photo Viewer Registry FileStep 2: Double-click the downloaded registry file and then click Yes when prompted.
The file restores the otherwise hidden Windows Photo Viewer via the Windows Registry. While you can now simply use the Open With option after right-clicking an image to load it in the Windows Photo Viewer instead of the Photos app, read on if you want to make it the default to open photos.
Step 3: Type Default Apps into the Start menu, and press Enter. On the Default Apps window that shows up, click Photos under Photo Viewer.
Step 4: Click Windows Photo Viewer on the context menu.
Your photos should load in the older Windows Photo Viewer automatically from now on. While it doesn't have the image editing features of the Photos app, it's well optimized for photo viewing and is a fine replacement until a future update fixes the Photos app.
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Click here to see our troubleshooting articles pagePatch It, Microsoft!
So, that's what you can do to stop the Photos app from crashing frequently. Hopefully, the troubleshooting tips above helped and you didn't have to do anything as drastic as switching to the old Windows Photo Viewer.
However, do keep in mind that the app can still crash after extended periods of use. So whenever you hit a snag, go on a troubleshooting spree again. Here's hoping that the folks over at Microsoft fix the app and get rid of the issues entirely.
The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.Read Next5 Best Alternatives to Polarr Photo Editor for WindowsAlso See#photos #windows 10
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Whether you’ve just taken a weekend trip up North or the European vacation of your dreams, you’re guaranteed to return home with a massive amount of photos, probably a handful of videos, and, if you were feeling particularly artsy, half a dozen time-lapses.
But now that you’re home, what are you going to do with all those pictures? Where are you going to keep them? How are you going to share them?
Enter the Photos app for Mac.
What is Photos on Mac?
The Photos app is a convenient home for all of your pictures and videos. Anything you shoot, Photos will store it and — better yet — organize it, so you can actually find said pictures when you feel like reliving the memories.
In this post, we’ll go over the basics of using Apple’s Photos app. We’ll talk about where to find photos on your Mac and how you can manage your ever-growing photo library. And of course, we’ll cover all the features Apple has built into this underrated app.
iPhoto vs Photos: What’s the difference?
Those of you familiar with iPhoto for Mac are probably wondering what makes its successor so special. And to oversimplify it, Photos is the next step in photo management — and a giant step at that.
Prior to Photos, Apple made two apps for managing pictures and videos. iPhoto, for those of us less experienced in photography, and Aperture, for the ones looking to do some heavier editing. Photos perfectly blurs the line between those two apps, combining the best of both while adding new features like iCloud Photo Library and iCloud Photo Sharing.
If you used iPhoto before, Photos will feel instantly recognizable. You’ll have your pictures, albums, and collections in the main window, a navigation sidebar to the left, and different viewing options at the top. However, a significant point of difference between iPhoto and Photos is the app’s performance. When working with larger libraries, iPhoto had the tendency to lag or choke up and had arbitrary limits that would restrict album and collection sizes. Photos gets rid of those limitations entirely and is able to handle much larger libraries than its predecessor. While the look of Photos may be the same, it feels like a faster and more powerful app.
Where are the photos stored on Mac?
The Photos app maintains pictures and videos in its own library, making it easy to view the content, but confusing to access the actual files. To find the photos on your Mac, you’ll need to find that Photos Library first:
- With the Photos app open, click on Photos in the menu bar
- Then go to Preferences > General
- At the top of the window, you’ll see Library Location. Click the Show in Finder button.
The first thing you’ll notice after you find the Photos Library file is you can’t do much with it. You can double-click it, but that opens Photos again. If you want to find the original files of your pictures and videos, you’ll need to:
- Right-click on Photos Library to open the alternate menu
- Select Show Package Contents from that menu
- Open the Masters folder
- All of your pictures and videos live in this folder, organized by year, month, and date
If you only need master files for a few pictures, you can drag them out of the Photos app directly onto your desktop. Doing this will create copies of the pictures and won’t move or delete the original files. Just don’t forget to find and delete all the copies later, so they don't turn your Mac into a mess. A duplicate finder like Gemini 2 can help with that.
How to use Apple’s Photos app
Photo Apps For Mac Computer
When you open Photos for the first time, the app offers you a glimpse of what your library will look like with all your pictures and videos imported. You get a quick intro to some of the features and tools, and learn how you can make these memories tangible through printed objects like calendars, photo books, and more.
Once you’ve finished the tour of the app and gone through the initial setup, you’re all set to start importing your pictures and videos!
How to import photos to Mac
There are several ways you can import your media content to Photos, depending on where you’ve been storing it.
From your iPhone or a digital camera
- Connect your iPhone or camera to your Mac with a USB cable. You might need to unlock your iPhone with your passcode, and then tap Trust when prompted to Trust This Computer.
- On your Mac, if the Photos app doesn’t open automatically, go ahead and open it.
- The Photos app will show you an Import screen that has all the photos and videos on your iPhone or camera. If you don’t see the Import screen, click on your iPhone or camera in the Photos sidebar under Devices.
- From here you can either choose to Import All New Items or select a batch and click Import Selected.
From a folder or an external hard drive in Finder
You have a couple of options here. If your pictures and videos live on an external hard drive, you’ll want to make sure it’s connected first. Then, you’ll want to do one of the following:
- Drag the files from your drive into the Photos window
- Drag the files from your drive onto the Photos icon in the Dock
- In Photos, go to File > Import from the menu bar. Choose the photos or videos you want to import and click Review for Import.
An important thing to know about Photos is that the app copies the pictures and videos into the Photos Library we talked about earlier, leaving the original file either on your device or in its folder.
Because Photos doesn’t remove the original picture after you import, you may end up with duplicate pics taking up precious space on your Mac. And if you’ve taken multiple photos of the same thing from slightly different angles, those will waste even more storage. To keep your photo collection lean, scan your Mac for duplicates from time to time. Gemini 2 can help you find and delete duplicate and even similar photos, so you don’t have to go through hundreds of photos manually. Download it for free and try it out.
Tabs in Photos: Library, Albums, Projects
Have you ever been unable to find a specific picture because you couldn’t remember when you took it? You can remember everything else about the photo, things like where it was taken and who was in it, but not the one thing you need to navigate your files.
The Photos app helps you with this predicament by organizing your pictures not only by date, but also by event, location, and even by people’s faces. In the sidebar, you’ll find a number of tabs designed to make sorting through your pictures easier.
Memories. Photos creates “memories” based on who is in a series of images as well as when and where those pictures were taken.
Favorites. These are the pictures you’ve gone through and clicked the heart icon on, marking them as your favorites.
People. This is where you’ll be able to see all the pictures of you have of specific people.
Places. This is where you can see all the pictures you’ve taken in specific locations.
Shared. This section is where you’ll find all the albums you’ve shared with other people and the albums that have been shared with you. (Check out our guide to iCloud Photo Sharing for more info on Shared Albums.)
Albums. If you want to group certain pictures for easy navigation, you’ll want to create a new album. This section is where you can access those albums.
How to tag people in photos
If you want to tag someone in a specific picture:
- Open the photo in the Photos app
- Click the info button in the top right corner.
- At the bottom of the info window, you’ll see circles with faces at the bottom. Tap on one of those.
- The face will now be circled on the photo. Underneath the circle will be a text box labeled “unnamed.” Click on the text box and type the person’s name.
If the person you’re tagging has already been tagged in your Library, their name should appear under the circle on the photo.
How to share pictures from the Photos app
The Photos app on Mac has made it easier than before to share your pictures. Just select the photos you want to share and click on the Share button in the top right-hand corner. You’ll see a list of options:
- Shared Albums
- AirDrop
- Messages
- Notes
- and more, depending on what apps and accounts you set up on your Mac
Tap on your preferred option and proceed to send the pic or create a Shared Album.
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How Does Photos App Work On Mac
Now that you’ve gotten a feel for how to use Photos on Mac, it’s time to give it a spin. Once you’ve got your library set up and organized, you’ll see how easy it is to relive and share your memories with Photos.