Windows 10 - Trouble opening Photos

[talksr]

Hi there,

 

I have come across an issue with opening pictures using Photos on our new Windows 10 systems.

 

When you click on any jpg, jpeg etc, you get the following message:

"you'll need a new app to open this ms-paint". It doesn't give you an option to open-with unless you are an administrator.

I am using Ranger 8 on Windows Server 2016.

 

Does anyone have anything I can put into Group Policy to allow Photos to be used?

I have already set Default File Associations as follows but it has not made any difference.

 

 

[Craig582]

We had the same problem. I believe it's a known issue in 1607. Upgrading to 1703 fixed it for us.

This article looks useful: https://ugetfix.com/ask/how-to-fix-not-working-microsoft-photos-app-on-windows-10/

[talksr]

Thanks for your post, I think that maybe was a one off error. What I am finding on many other machines is that there just doesn't seem to be Photos as an app you can open. Teaching staff are able to 'Open With', but their options are limited..

If I select Open With:

 

If I go with what is currently the option, this is the error I get on all the other systems I have tested it on...

 

 

I can open the images with Paint, but obviously, this is not really ideal at all.

 

Any ideas?

[ITrayan]

I find the Windows 10 Photos app to be awfully bad. I'd recommend installing any simple photo browser like Irfanview.

 

Best regards,

Rayan

[talksr]

I find the Windows 10 Photos app to be awfully bad. I'd recommend installing any simple photo browser like Irfanview.

 

Best regards,

Rayan

 

Thanks Ryan,

I think the staff like it as it allows them to easily create print outs using the wizard, so they can put multiple images onto one sheet.

 

If I put on Irfanview, I wonder if Windows 10 would automatically use it by default?

[Technet]

...

 

If I put on Irfanview, I wonder if Windows 10 would automatically use it by default?

 

Sure! In Extensions tab in IrfvanView settings you can set it as the default for the images that you want to open in it.

Or you have another one method:

 

1. Click Start, type Default Apps Settings;
   
2. Scroll to and click on Photo Viewer; now select Irfanview from list;
   
3. Close the window;
   
4. Locate and double click some photo files *.jpg or other picture files and test it.
   

[LukeRowberry]

We use a .reg file at deployment to put the old Windows photo viewer back on.

PhotoViewer.zip

[talksr]

We use a .reg file at deployment to put the old Windows photo viewer back on.

 

Thanks, very helpful. How did you add this reg file?

Not sure if I should add to GP under User Config>Policies>Windows Settings>Scripts>Logon Script>Regedit.exe /Restore_Windows_Photo_Viewer.reg

 

Or if I should be adding it under:

User Config>Preferences>Windows Settings>Registry>New Registry Item

[Garacesh]

I have a task in WDS that installs irfanview as a core part of the OS. Might be of some use.

[talksr]

I have a task in WDS that installs irfanview as a core part of the OS. Might be of some use.

That is interesting, how did you manage that? At the moment, I just have Windows 10 1703 as a WDS deployment image - no other config just the OS. It installs very well and is what I have used for all of our systems tbh.

[Garacesh]

That is interesting, how did you manage that? At the moment, I just have Windows 10 1703 as a WDS deployment image - no other config just the OS. It installs very well and is what I have used for all of our systems tbh.

 

Off the top of my head, it's just a batch file that installs added as a WDS Application.

(There's more to it than that, it's a hidden application that has an 'Install Application' step added to the task sequence so that it's mandatory for every image, but that's not really relevant I guess..)

 

I can get you the details tomorrow if you'd like?

[Garacesh]

how did you manage that?

The command I use to install Irfanview with WDS as part of imaging is:

 

START /WAIT "Irfanview Setup" "\\server\DeploymentShare$\Applications\Irfanview 4.44 x64\iview444_x64_setup.exe" /silent /group=1 /allusers=1 /assoc=1

[talksr]

The command I use to install Irfanview with WDS as part of imaging is:

 

START /WAIT "Irfanview Setup" "\\server\DeploymentShare$\Applications\Irfanview 4.44 x64\iview444_x64_setup.exe" /silent /group=1 /allusers=1 /assoc=1

 

Thank you, I have never added these to WDS images. Do you know of any guides that help with how to do this?

 

Thanks for your help on this one.

[Garacesh]

I don't, it's kinda just second nature by now, but tomorrow I'll happily do you a step-by-step bunch of screenshots to walk you through it.

[Garacesh]

OK, so for WDS applications, step one is a bit of a pain, not because it's difficult, but just because it's annoying you have to do it. WDS will copy/move files to its own DeploymentShare$\Applications folder, so you have to make it somewhere else eg in the drive root or a network share. Download the latest irfanview installer (we're using iview444_x64_setup.exe but it's probably outdated by now) and stick that in a folder somewhere.

 

Now you load up the deployment configurator there's a list of categories at the side, Applications, Operating Systems, Out-of-Box Drivers etc. If you right-click on applications, you get the option to add a new one (or make a folder, it'll be useful to use folders if you find yourself adding a lot of applications). Click 'New Application'.

For the type of application you want Application with source files

Give the application a name (eg Irfanview) and optional publisher/version/etc.

Browse and find the directory that you created with the installer in it. If you've made this file locally on your WDS server, tick the 'move the files to the..' box.

Specify the name of the directory, usually the autocompleted one will do just fine.

for the command line, you want something like .\InstallIrfanview.bat

Next, next, finish. Done!

 

The final step is to actually create the batch file that installs it. You might just be able to have WDS call the command line instead of the batch file but in my experience this can be a bit hit-and-miss when you're using additional switches and I didn't have the luxury of time to test it.

So find the newly-created folder in Deploymentshare\Applications and open it. Create a new batch file and give it the same name you specified earlier (eg InstallIrfanview.bat)

Paste in the command: START /WAIT "Irfanview Setup" "\\your-server\DeploymentShareName$\Applications\Irfanview 4.44 x64\iview444_x64_setup.exe" /silent /group=1 /allusers=1 /assoc=1 (obviously modifying for location, filename, etcetera)

Now to explain this a little bit:

• START calls the exe, fair enough
  
• WAIT means that the command line calling it won't exit its sequence until the exe it calls has exited. This means your WDS will wait for irfanview to install before moving on to the next step. We do this so we don't get msiexec clashes.
  
• The "Irfanview Setup" bit is a pain. You don't need it for START /WAIT.. You do need it for START /WAIT with additional switches, because if you feed it more than one value it'll take the file location as the process name. Realistically this is just a string and can be any value, it doesn't really matter.
  
• Exe location is obvious
  
• /silent isn't important, but noninteractive is. There's no switch for that, so we just use silent.
  
• /group=1 and /allusers=1, group=1 = All users, 0 = Current user. Further command line switches are documented here, just CTRL+F the page for /group and you'll find it.
  
• /assoc=1 sets the file association.
  

 

Now I do want to make a point of is that this probably isn't the 'normal' way of doing it. It's a bit convoluted, I'll admit, but we were in a bit of a rush when I had to put this together and it's just stuck with me because once you get the hang of it it's really easy, I can test it without having to run a whole image, and I can edit the batch files to modify the install if I need to without having to update the deployment share (maybe I don't have to anyway, I'm no WDS pro. I dunno)

The biggest benefit though is that if something goes wrong, the batch file makes it incredibly easy to re-run on its own. Not a problem with irfanview. Very much a problem with Solidworks or MS Office.

Like I said earlier, you might get away with whacking the command straight into WDS. If you want to try that, instead of .\InstallIrfanview.bat (I think) you'd want just iview444_x64_setup.exe /silent /group=1 /allusers=1 /assoc=1. If you're not pressed for time I'd say give it a whirl, see if you can cut out the middleman as it were.

 

Edit: oops. More info

 

Now everything above makes it an optional application. You should get an 'Applications' screen whilst you're imaging it and you can tick it if you want it.

 

If you want the software to be mandatory, right-click on the entry in the application list, and click Properties. Tick 'Hide this application in the deployment wizard'

Then navigate to Task Sequences, find your task sequence, right-click, properties. Change to the Task Sequence tab.

Before the 'Install Applications' step, add a new 'Install Application' (Add, General) task and find irfanview. Click OK.

That makes it hidden from the deployment wizard, but now there's a step that forces it to get installed anyway.

Edited October 13, 2017 by Garacesh

[talksr]

OK, so for WDS applications, step one is a bit of a pain, not because it's difficult, but just because it's annoying you have to do it. WDS will copy/move files to its own DeploymentShare$\Applications folder, so you have to make it somewhere else eg in the drive root or a network share. Download the latest irfanview installer (we're using iview444_x64_setup.exe but it's probably outdated by now) and stick that in a folder somewhere.

Now you load up the deployment configurator there's a list of categories at the side, Applications, Operating Systems, Out-of-Box Drivers etc. If you right-click on applications, you get the option to add a new one (or make a folder, it'll be useful to use folders if you find yourself adding a lot of applications). Click 'New Application'.

 

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to write this. I got as far through your instructions as above.

Not sure if I am going mad, but I can't find Applications anywhere. Tried checking options in case it was hidden or unticked.

 

Am I in the right place? This is a 2012 server.

[Garacesh]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]46121[/ATTACH]

Ooh-err.. That doesn't look like mine at all.

 

[LukeRowberry]

You are looking in Windows Deployment Services and not Microsoft Deployment Toolkit