Get Windows Photo Viewer back on Windows 10 to view photos faster, Photos is too slow!

Are you frustrated when opening photos with Photos on Windows 10? Waiting for it to open is long, waiting for it to show up is even more crazy, especially when the photos are heavy, not to mention, after using Windows 10 for quite a while, I still can't "absorb" the navigation style of Photos.

If you don't like Photos on Windows 10 and want to view photos using Windows Photo Viewer on Windows 10, follow this guide to bring Windows Photo Viewer to Windows 10, helping you view photos faster.

Why is Photos slower than Windows Photo Viewer?

Everything has its reasons. It's not that Photos is not good, it's just that it's not optimized enough for users. To be fair, Windows Photo Viewer is simply a photo viewer, can rotate upside down photos , zoom, that is, it provides the most basic photo viewing features. As for Photos, besides all the features of Windows Photo Viewer, it also has some photo editing tools such as filters, cropping, and brightness adjustment, so Photos is definitely heavier and slower than Windows Photo Viewer.

But, honestly speaking (perhaps not only me, but many other Windows 10 users) rarely use the additional features of Photos. Wanting to draw on photos, mark photos is not possible. Cropping photos is probably used more, but it does not allow cropping to a fixed size. For more in-depth photo editing, there are many photo editing apps and software with much better tools than Photos. I think Microsoft needs to improve Photos more if users want to be satisfied with it.

If you are like me, can't stand the slow speed of Photos, want to view photos faster, "revive" Windows Photo Viewer and set Windows Photo Viewer as the default photo viewing application on Windows 10. Below are detailed instructions, probably less than a minute.

Reviving Windows Photos Viewer on Windows 10

Get back Windows Photos Viewer using .reg file

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

Unzip, open the folder containing the file *.reg, you can double-click on the file Restore_Windows_Photo_Viewer.reg , or right-click on the file and select Merge:

Get Windows Photo Viewer back on Windows 10 to view photos faster, Photos is too slow!
Run the downloaded Restore_Windows_Photo_Viewer.reg file

A message will appear asking you to allow the file to make changes to Windows 10 and warning that this file adds information to the registry, which can cause errors. Don't worry, just click Yes, I'm the guinea pig.

To check if Windows Photo Viewer is successfully installed, right-click on any photo, select Open With , if you see Windows Photo Viewer (or Open With > Choose another app > Windows Photos Viewer ), it's correct.

Get Windows Photo Viewer back on Windows 10 to view photos faster, Photos is too slow!
View photos with Windows Photos Viewer on Windows 10

And here is our result, the familiar interface of Windows Photo Viewer :

Get Windows Photo Viewer back on Windows 10 to view photos faster, Photos is too slow!
Windows Photo Viewer on Win 10

For those of you who run the *.regabove file but still do not see the Windows Photo Viewer option , it is because your account is in User rights, so merging the file *.reginto the system will not work. To fix this error, please log out and log in to an account with Administrator rights, run the file again *.regand then log in to the account you are using.

"Revive" Windows Photos Viewer through the Restore Windows Photo Viewer to Windows 10 tool

Get Windows Photo Viewer back on Windows 10 to view photos faster, Photos is too slow!
Restore Windows Photo Viewer to Windows 10

Restore Windows Photo Viewer to Windows 10 is a software package that allows users to restore the default Windows Photo Viewer tool, even when using the latest version of the operating system (Windows 10). This tool can be quite useful, as some individuals have complained that the newer version is difficult to operate. The main problem is that although the original viewer is still present, it is difficult to find. Restore Windows Photo Viewer to Windows 10 will help you solve this problem.

Restore Windows Photo Viewer to Windows 10 is a viable replacement for the current built-in photo app. It is a direct mirror image of the classic version, so users can enjoy the familiar layout once again. The system is quite flexible and it can handle a number of file types. These include JPEG, .JPG, .JPE, and JFIF formats. This is a multi-user package, so changes can be made system-wide if required.

It is a user-friendly image viewer and can easily select the images to be uploaded, as well as their file types. It is only 1.25 megabytes in size and there are no additional applications to download. Once installed, the package can be activated immediately.

Download Restore Windows Photo Viewer to Windows 10

Set Windows Photo Viewer as the default photo viewer on Windows 10

Method 1: Using Windows Settings

To now have Windows Photo Viewer open every time you double-click a photo, do the following:

Step 1: After successfully installing Windows Photo Viewer , restart your computer.

Step 2: Type default app settingsin the search bar and select Default app settings .

Get Windows Photo Viewer back on Windows 10 to view photos faster, Photos is too slow!
Find and select Default app settings

Step 3: In the right pane, look for the option named Photo viewer.

Get Windows Photo Viewer back on Windows 10 to view photos faster, Photos is too slow!
Find Photo Viewer in default apps settings on Windows 10

Step 4 : Click Photos, select Windows Photo Viewer.

Get Windows Photo Viewer back on Windows 10 to view photos faster, Photos is too slow!
Select Windows Photo Viewer as the default photo viewing application

And that's it, the familiar, lightning-fast Windows Photo Viewer is back with you!

Method 2: Use Open with

If changing the default app settings doesn't work, try the following.

Step 1: Right- click on the photo you want to open with Windows Photo Viewer , select Open with > Choose another app .

Get Windows Photo Viewer back on Windows 10 to view photos faster, Photos is too slow!
Select Open with > Choose another app

Step 2: In the menu that opens, select Windows Photo Viewer and check the option Always use this app to open .png (this may be different depending on the file format you are opening) files as shown, click OK .

Get Windows Photo Viewer back on Windows 10 to view photos faster, Photos is too slow!
Select Windows Photo Viewer as default

The Windows Photo Viewer icon will replace Photo in front of the photo name and open the familiar photo viewing window.

Get Windows Photo Viewer back on Windows 10 to view photos faster, Photos is too slow!
Windows Photo Viewer is selected as the default image opening application.

Note, with this method, images with the same format as the image you just selected will automatically be opened by default with Windows Photo Viewer. To open another image format, you need to select 1 image in that format and repeat the above steps. Here I did it with .png and .jpg.

Video tutorial to get back Windows Photo Viewer on Windows 10

Note:

If you upgrade from Windows 7/8.1 to Windows 10 , the system will display the Windows Photo Viewer option as the application to open and view photos, but if you choose to install Windows 10 directly , you will not be able to find 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, since Windows XP or 2000, or even before) and replaced it with a rather new and strange Photos feature. If you dig into Settings > System > Default apps, you will not be able to find it:

Get Windows Photo Viewer back on Windows 10 to view photos faster, Photos is too slow!

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

Get Windows Photo Viewer back on Windows 10 to view photos faster, Photos is too slow!

Good luck!

See more: How to download and install Windows Media Player 12 on Windows 10

Tags: #System
Sign up and earn $1000 a day ⋙

Leave a Comment

Recover Deleted Data with Recuva Portable in Windows 7

Recover Deleted Data with Recuva Portable in Windows 7

In the following article, we will present the basic operations to recover deleted data in Windows 7 with the support tool Recuva Portable. With Recuva Portable, you can store it in any convenient USB, and use it whenever needed. The tool is compact, simple, easy to use with some of the following features:

How to delete duplicate files to save computer memory using CCleaner

How to delete duplicate files to save computer memory using CCleaner

CCleaner scans for duplicate files in just a few minutes, then lets you decide which ones are safe to delete.

10 Windows Settings You Should Never Leave as Default

10 Windows Settings You Should Never Leave as Default

Windows doesn't come with security set up by default, which means there are some default settings you need to change.

How to Download, Update, and Troubleshoot USB Drivers on Windows 10

How to Download, Update, and Troubleshoot USB Drivers on Windows 10

USB devices have become indispensable in everyday life, allowing us to connect a wide variety of essential hardware to our PCs.

How to Lock Guest Wi-Fi Network So No One Can Spy

How to Lock Guest Wi-Fi Network So No One Can Spy

If you properly lock down your guest Wi-Fi network, you can share your Internet connection with any visitors without sharing any other information.

Lost Admin rights on Windows 10, heres how to fix it

Lost Admin rights on Windows 10, heres how to fix it

For some reason, your Windows 10 computer lost Admin rights, every time you open an application on the screen you receive an error message. So how to restore lost Admin rights, please refer to the article below of WebTech360.

3 ways to turn off Windows 11 firewall

3 ways to turn off Windows 11 firewall

In this article, WebTech360 will guide you how to turn off the firewall on Windows 11.

Windows 11 22H2: Moment 1 update with many notable features

Windows 11 22H2: Moment 1 update with many notable features

After a long wait, the first major update of Windows 11 has officially been released.

How to fix Unhandled Exception Has Occurred error on Windows 10

How to fix Unhandled Exception Has Occurred error on Windows 10

The Unhandled exception has occurred error is not related to a specific application, making it more difficult to resolve. This article will guide you through some ways to fix the Unhandled exception has occurred error on Windows 10.

9 Ways to Convert MOV Files to MP4

9 Ways to Convert MOV Files to MP4

These days, most PCs and Apple devices can handle both MOV and MP4 files, at least to some extent. However, the need to convert MOV video files to MP4 files has not diminished.

What is end-to-end encryption? How does it work?

What is end-to-end encryption? How does it work?

Recognizing this need, major online messaging services use a technique called end-to-end encryption, to secure and protect users' conversations.

How to set different wallpapers on each monitor Windows 10/11

How to set different wallpapers on each monitor Windows 10/11

Setting up multiple monitors on Windows is quite simple and only takes a few minutes to do. After setting up multi-monitor mode (multiple screens), you can set up separate wallpapers for each screen. To do this, please refer to the article below from WebTech360.

How to use Command Prompt, how to use cmd on Windows

How to use Command Prompt, how to use cmd on Windows

Hidden deep within Windows is a world of command lines that few people know about. In this article, we will guide you on how to fix errors and make your computer more secure using the cmd command line tool.

How to enter BIOS (UEFI) on Windows 10, how to fix the error of not being able to enter BIOS Win 10

How to enter BIOS (UEFI) on Windows 10, how to fix the error of not being able to enter BIOS Win 10

Instructions on how to enter BIOS on Windows 10 for you, with video illustration.

How to use hidden video editor on Windows 11

How to use hidden video editor on Windows 11

Clipchamp is the default video editor on Windows 11, but if you just need to make a quick cut, split a simple photo, or add music to a clip, the classic editor inside the Photos Legacy app is a much better choice.

Recover Deleted Data with Recuva Portable in Windows 7

Recover Deleted Data with Recuva Portable in Windows 7

In the following article, we will present the basic operations to recover deleted data in Windows 7 with the support tool Recuva Portable. With Recuva Portable, you can store it in any convenient USB, and use it whenever needed. The tool is compact, simple, easy to use with some of the following features:

How to delete duplicate files to save computer memory using CCleaner

How to delete duplicate files to save computer memory using CCleaner

CCleaner scans for duplicate files in just a few minutes, then lets you decide which ones are safe to delete.

10 Windows Settings You Should Never Leave as Default

10 Windows Settings You Should Never Leave as Default

Windows doesn't come with security set up by default, which means there are some default settings you need to change.

How to Download, Update, and Troubleshoot USB Drivers on Windows 10

How to Download, Update, and Troubleshoot USB Drivers on Windows 10

USB devices have become indispensable in everyday life, allowing us to connect a wide variety of essential hardware to our PCs.

How to Lock Guest Wi-Fi Network So No One Can Spy

How to Lock Guest Wi-Fi Network So No One Can Spy

If you properly lock down your guest Wi-Fi network, you can share your Internet connection with any visitors without sharing any other information.

Lost Admin rights on Windows 10, heres how to fix it

Lost Admin rights on Windows 10, heres how to fix it

For some reason, your Windows 10 computer lost Admin rights, every time you open an application on the screen you receive an error message. So how to restore lost Admin rights, please refer to the article below of WebTech360.

3 ways to turn off Windows 11 firewall

3 ways to turn off Windows 11 firewall

In this article, WebTech360 will guide you how to turn off the firewall on Windows 11.

Windows 11 22H2: Moment 1 update with many notable features

Windows 11 22H2: Moment 1 update with many notable features

After a long wait, the first major update of Windows 11 has officially been released.

How to fix Unhandled Exception Has Occurred error on Windows 10

How to fix Unhandled Exception Has Occurred error on Windows 10

The Unhandled exception has occurred error is not related to a specific application, making it more difficult to resolve. This article will guide you through some ways to fix the Unhandled exception has occurred error on Windows 10.

9 Ways to Convert MOV Files to MP4

9 Ways to Convert MOV Files to MP4

These days, most PCs and Apple devices can handle both MOV and MP4 files, at least to some extent. However, the need to convert MOV video files to MP4 files has not diminished.

What is end-to-end encryption? How does it work?

What is end-to-end encryption? How does it work?

Recognizing this need, major online messaging services use a technique called end-to-end encryption, to secure and protect users' conversations.

How to set different wallpapers on each monitor Windows 10/11

How to set different wallpapers on each monitor Windows 10/11

Setting up multiple monitors on Windows is quite simple and only takes a few minutes to do. After setting up multi-monitor mode (multiple screens), you can set up separate wallpapers for each screen. To do this, please refer to the article below from WebTech360.

How to use Command Prompt, how to use cmd on Windows

How to use Command Prompt, how to use cmd on Windows

Hidden deep within Windows is a world of command lines that few people know about. In this article, we will guide you on how to fix errors and make your computer more secure using the cmd command line tool.

How to enter BIOS (UEFI) on Windows 10, how to fix the error of not being able to enter BIOS Win 10

How to enter BIOS (UEFI) on Windows 10, how to fix the error of not being able to enter BIOS Win 10

Instructions on how to enter BIOS on Windows 10 for you, with video illustration.

How to use hidden video editor on Windows 11

How to use hidden video editor on Windows 11

Clipchamp is the default video editor on Windows 11, but if you just need to make a quick cut, split a simple photo, or add music to a clip, the classic editor inside the Photos Legacy app is a much better choice.