Invalid value for registry error when opening Image or Video files on Windows 11/10

In this post, we will show you how to fix the Invalid value for registry error when opening Image (JPG, PNG, etc.) or Video (MP4, etc.) files on Windows 11/10. The Windows Registry is a collection of databases to store the information and settings for software programs, hardware devices, user preferences and more. If after upgrading your PC to Windows 11/10, when you try to open/view image files with the native Movies & TV or Photos app in Windows 11/10, you receive the Invalid value for registry error message, then this post will help you.  In this post, we will identify some potential known causes that can trigger the error and then provide the possible solutions you can try to help remediate this issue.

The main reason for this error is that after updating to Windows 11/10, some registry entries of the previous Windows installation remain intact and conflict with the current installation.

Fix Invalid value for registry error when opening Image or Video files

You can fix the Invalid value for registry error when opening Image (JPG, PNG, etc.) or Video (MP4, etc.) files on Windows 11/10 by following these solutions:

1. Reset the Movies & TV or Photos app
2. Delete the Photos app older version Registry entries
3. Uninstall and reinstall Photos app
4. Run Windows Store Apps Troubleshooter
5. Run SFC/DISM scan.

Let’s take a look at the description of the process involved in relation to each of the listed solutions.

Before we begin, we suggest you try opening/viewing the image using Windows Photo Viewer or any similar third-party image viewer app. For opening video files you may try VLC or any other third-party video viewer app. The image or video should open just fine. In this case, you may change your default program to open media files.

However, if you prefer to use the Windows 11/10 in-built Movies and TV or Photos app, you can try these solutions to fix the issue.

1] Reset the Movies & TV or Photos app

The Invalid value for registry error when opening any image file correlates with the Movies & TV or Photos app. Therefore, in this solution, we will reset the app to reinitialize its configurations.

Here’s how:

• Press Windows key + I to launch the Settings app.
• Click on the Apps option and select Apps & Features from the left pane.
• Search the list and click on the Microsoft Photos or the Photos option.
• Click on the Advanced Options button below the name of the app.
• Scroll down and click on the Reset button to reinitialize the app.

Once the process completes, check if the issue is resolved. If not continue with the next solution.

You have to follow the same procedure to reset the Movies & TV app.

2] Delete the Photos app older version registry entries

In this solution, you can fix the error while opening any image file by deleting the older version of registry entries for the Photos app.

Here’s how:

Caution: Since this is a registry operation, it’s recommended that you back up the registry or create a System Restore Point in case the procedure goes wrong. Once you have taken the necessary precautionary measures, you can now proceed as follows:

Press Windows key + R.

In the Run dialog box, type regedit and hit Enter to launch Registry Editor.

Next, navigate or jump to the registry key below:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppModel\Repository\Families\Microsoft.Windows.Photos_8wekyb3d8bbwe

On the left pane, expand/collapse the Microsoft.Windows. Photos_8wekyb3d8bbwe key.

Under this key, there are usually 8 entries. If you find 4 entries that have an older version number than the other 4, right-click one after another the 4 outdated entries and select Delete from the context menu. Some users find 6 entries with 2 outdated ones, delete the 2 outdated registry entries.

Note: To be able to delete a registry entry, you’ll first need to take ownership of the registry entry.

Once you have deleted the outdated entries, exit Registry Editor and then reset Microsoft Store cache for good measure.

Afterward, restart your computer and see if you can open/view images with the Photos app without the error. If not, you can proceed with the next solution.

3] Uninstall and reinstall Movies & TV or Photos app

In this solution, you’ll need to uninstall the Movies & TV, or Photos app and then re-install it. Re-installing re-writes to the registry with correct settings so this works in most cases and should fix the error.

However, most default apps cannot be uninstalled via the conventional way, so you’ll have to uninstall/reinstall the Photos app via PowerShell.

Here’s how:

Press Windows key + X to launch the Power User Menu.

Now, press A on the keyboard to launch PowerShell in admin/elevated mode.

In the PowerShell window, copy and paste the command below and hit Enter to uninstall the Photos app:

Get-AppxPackage *photos* | Remove-AppxPackage

After the app has been uninstalled, copy and paste the command below and hit Enter to reinstall the app.

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

Alternatively, you can uninstall the Movies & TV or Photos app via Settings and then visit the Microsoft Store to download the app.

Once the reinstallation completes, check and see if the issue is resolved. If not continue with the next solution.

4] Run Windows Store Apps Troubleshooter

In this solution, you can run Windows Store Apps Troubleshooter to troubleshoot problems that may be preventing the Photos app from working properly thereby triggering this error.

Do the following:

• Go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshoot.
• Select Windows Store Apps > Run the troubleshooter.

When the process completes, check to see if the issue persists. If so try the next solution.

5] Run SFC/DISM scan

If you have System files errors, you may encounter the Invalid value for registry error.

The SFC/DISM are tools in Windows that allows users to scan for corruptions in Windows system files and restore corrupted files.

For the purposes of ease and convenience, you can run the scan using the procedure below.

Open Notepad – copy and paste the command below into the text editor.

@echo off
date /t & time /t
echo Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
echo ...
date /t & time /t
echo Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
echo ...
date /t & time /t
echo SFC /scannow
SFC /scannow
date /t & time /t
pause

Save the file with a name and append the .bat file extension – eg; SFC_DISM_scan.bat.

Repeatedly run the batch file with admin privilege (right-click the saved file and select Run as Administrator from the context menu) until it reports no errors – at which point you can now restart your PC and see if the Movies & TV or Photos app issue is resolved.

Any of these solutions should fix the issue for you!

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