Fix: "invalid value for registry" when Opening JPG/JPEG/PNG Files on Windows

The error, invalid value for registry, can occur when working with any type of file but is mostly encountered when opening JPG/JPEG/PNG files. This error occurs shortly after a Windows update or system restart. Therefore, it is crucial to fix the error "Invalid value for registry" when opening JPG/JPEG/PNG files on Windows. The following are the fixes.

Part 1: What is an invalid value in the registry?

Windows programs, software, hardware devices, user preferences, and many other items run based on information and data sets in the Windows registry, which is a collection of databases, and small differences in registry values can cause big problems. Therefore, the "invalid registry value" error is a sign that your system is running incorrectly. The registry entries may change after upgrading your system to Windows 10 and 11. Updating your system to Windows 10 and 11 may leave your system's old registry entries intact and may cause conflicts with your current system.

Part 2: How to fix "invalid value for registry" when opening JPG/JPEG/PNG files?

Fix 1: Reset the photo application

Step 1: Press WIN+X at the same time and select the "Apps and Features" from it.

Step 2: Find the "Microsoft Photos" in the "Apps & features" settings and click it. Select the "Advanced options" to reset the Photos application.

Step 3: Scroll down the list, find the "Reset" button and click it.

Fix 2: Run application troubleshooting

Step 1: Use WIN+S to open the search bar, search for Control Panel and open it.

Step 2: Search for "Troubleshooting" in the Control Panel search bar and click on it, in the left sidebar and click on "View All".

Step 3: Scroll down the list to find the "Windows Store Apps" and click it.

Step 4: Click "Next" to continue and run the application Troubleshooting may have fixed invalid values in the registry.

Fix 3: Uninstall and reinstall the photo application

Step 1: Press WIN + Q simultaneously and type PowerShell in the search box. right-click it and run as administrator.

Step 2: Enter the following code to uninstall the photo app.

Get-AppxPackage *photos* | Remove-AppxPackage

Step 3: After uninstalling the application, type the following code to reinstall the application.

Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers| Foreach{AddAppxPackageDisableDevelopmentModeRegister"$($_.Install Location)\AppXManifest.xml"}

Step 4: Reboot the system to save the changes and open the photo to check if an invalid value for the registry disappears.

Fix 4: Changing registry settings

Step 1: Press WIN+R at the same time to open Run, type Regedit, and click ok to open the registry editor.

Step 2: Locate the following directory.

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

Step 3: Before you can delete the outdated key, you need to take ownership of the key. Right-click on the Microsoft.Windows.Photos_8wekyb3d8bbwe directory and select Permissions.

Step 4: Select Administrator by scrolling down the list, then click the Advanced button.

Step 5: Select the Change option in the Advanced Settings window.

Step 6: Click the Advanced button in Select Users or Group.

Step 7: Click Find Now to browse users or groups from the list. Find your user name and click OK to apply the changes.

Step 8: Change the administrator's permissions by clicking the Allow option.

Step 9: This will provide you with ownership of the key and now you can delete the outdated key and see that the invalid value of the registry error has disappeared.

Fix 5: Clear the Windows App Store cache

Step 1: Press Windows + R to open the Run program and type WSReset.exe and click OK to clear all caches.

Step 2: After completing the process, restart the Photos application and check if the problem still exists.

Fix 6: Run the system file checker and check the disk

Step 1: Press the Start button and type Command Prompt in the search box. Select Command Prompt from the search list, right-click it, and run as administrator.

Step 2: Type sfc /scannow and press Enter. Wait until the scan is complete and restart the PC.

Step 3: Open a command prompt in administrator mode as in the previous steps and type CHKDSK /f /r and press enter to run the disk check process. It will ask to reschedule the scan, type Y and press Enter. And then the volume will be checked the next time the system restarts.

Fix 7: Update drivers

Step 1: Use WIN+Q to search for Device Manager in the search bar and open it.

Step 2: Select "Display adapters" from the drop-down list item. Click to expand the folder and select the drive. Right-click it and select the "pdate drive" option.

Step 3: In the pop-up dialog box, select "Search automatically for drivers".

Step 4: Restart the PC to save the changes and check if the invalid values of the registry errors have been fixed.

Final Word

That's all the best fixes for the "invalid value in registry" error when opening JPG/JPEG/PNG Files on Windows. You can try one or two of these fixes. Hopefully, these fixes can solve the issue.