Photos App in Windows 10 Opens Extremely Slow

Many users note that when viewing any image in the new built-in Photos app in Windows 10, it takes a long time to open. The delay when starting Photos UWP app may be 10-30 seconds and even up to several minutes. If the Photos application is already running, other images open in it instantaneously. It means that the “Photos” starts slowly only when first launch. Windows 10 also has the classical Windows Photo Viewer application, but it is disabled by default. Most users just enable the old app to view images using the registry.

If you still want to use the built-in modern Photos app to view images, you can improve its performance using the following tips.

The problem of the slow first launch of Photos is in its default settings. When starting, the Photos app tries to synchronize the image with your OneDrive account in order to make it easier for you to share it with your friends. Also, hardware acceleration is enabled by default in your app independent of whether your computer supports it.

So, to launch the Photos application in Windows 10 more quickly:

1. Open its settings (three dots in the top right -> Settings)
   
2. Disable the Microsoft OneDrive and People (off) in the Photos Settings.
   
3. In the Video section, disable the hardware acceleration: Use hardware-accelerated video encoding = off. 

Close Photos and try to start it again. This time it should launch much faster.

If it did not help, try to reset Photos data and settings:

1. Open Settings -> Apps -> Apps & features;
2. ,Find “Microsoft Photos” In the list of apps and open its Advanced options;
3. On the next screen click the Reset button. All settings and app data will be reset. 

If the reset did not help, you can try to remove Photos using PowerShell:

Get-AppxPackage *Photos* | Remove-AppxPackage

Then go to Microsoft Store (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/microsoft-photos/9wzdncrfjbh4) and reinstall the Microsoft Photos from scratch.

You can restore the removed UWP app using the following command:

Get-AppxPackage -allusers Microsoft.Windows.Photos | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}

If the classic Photo Viewer in Windows 10 flips through images rather slowly, it may relate to the load of the bad color profile. Try to use another color profile for your screen.

1. Run the command: colorcpl.exe
2. In the Devices tab, select your monitor and check the option Use my settings for this device;
3. Click Add, add a profile from the ICC Profiles list (e. g. sRGB IEC61966-2.1) and click OK; 
4. Select a new profile and click Set as Default Profile
5. After that you will be able to move through the photos quickly.

If neither Photos, nor Windows Photo Viewer suit you, you can install and use an alternative app to view images in Windows 10, for example, IrfanView, FastStone Image Viewer, etc.