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What is Photos.exe?

Photos.exe is the main executable file for the Microsoft Photos application, an image viewer and organizer developed by Microsoft. It is a legitimate Windows component, first included with Windows 8, that serves as the default program for viewing, editing, and managing photos and videos on the operating system. The software is typically used to open various image and video file formats, create albums, make simple edits like cropping and color correction, and gather pictures from a user's PC, phone, and cloud storage accounts into a single location.

This file is needed for the Microsoft Photos app to function. If you use this application to view or organize your media files, Photos.exe is an essential process. It runs when you open an image or video file and may sometimes run in the background to index media or generate thumbnails. The legitimate file is located in a specific WindowsApps folder, such as C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.Windows.Photos_....

A user might consider removing it if they exclusively use a third-party photo viewer and wish to free up system resources. However, since it is an integrated part of the Windows operating system, removal can sometimes be complex or cause unintended issues with default file associations. More critically, while the genuine Photos.exe is safe, malware can sometimes disguise itself using the same filename to avoid detection. If Photos.exe is found in a location other than the official WindowsApps directory (for example, in C:\Windows\System32), or if it exhibits suspicious behavior such as high CPU usage, it could be a virus or trojan.

To verify the legitimacy of the Photos.exe process running on your computer, a tool like Security Task Manager can provide more detailed information. It can help you check the file's location and digital signature to determine if it is the genuine Microsoft application or a potential threat.

Click to Run a Free Scan for Photos.exe related errors

Since 2005, file.net has researched facts about Windows processes and files, analyzed user experiences, and examined files using its own analysis tools. Around 10,000 users rely on it every day.


Photos.exe file information

The process known as Microsoft Fotos or Microsoft Photos or Photos Microsoft or Photos widget for HTC Home (version 3) or Fotos Microsoft belongs to software Photos widget by (www.microsoft.com).

Description: The original Photos.exe is an important part of Windows and rarely causes problems. The Photos.exe file is located in a subfolder of "C:\Program Files" (for instance C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.Windows.Photos_2024.11100.16009.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\). Known file sizes on Windows 10/11/7 are 2,596,424 bytes (42% of all occurrences), 112,160 bytes, 2,636,336 bytes, 945,152 bytes or 112,184 bytes. file.net/process/photos.exe.html 
Photos.exe is a Windows system file. The program is a Windows Store App and follows the Windows Store policies. There is no description of the program. The file has a digital signature. The program has no visible window. You can uninstall this program in the Control Panel. Therefore the technical security rating is 1% dangerous.

Uninstalling this variant: If problems with Photos.exe occur, you can do the following:
  1) safely remove the program using the uninstall program of Microsoft Photos or Microsoft Fotos (Control Panel ⇒ Uninstall a Program)
  2) contact www.microsoft.com Customer Service.

Recommended: Identify Photos.exe related errors

Important: Some malware camouflages itself as Photos.exe, particularly when located in the C:\Windows or C:\Windows\System32 folder. Therefore, you should check the Photos.exe process on your PC to see if it is a threat. We recommend Security Task Manager for verifying your computer's security. This was one of the Top Download Picks of The Washington Post and PC World.

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Best practices for resolving Photos issues

A clean and tidy computer is the key requirement for avoiding problems with Photos. This means running a scan for malware, cleaning your hard drive using 1cleanmgr and 2sfc /scannow, 3uninstalling programs that you no longer need, checking for Autostart programs (using 4msconfig) and enabling Windows' 5Automatic Update. Always remember to perform periodic backups, or at least to set restore points.

Should you experience an actual problem, try to recall the last thing you did, or the last thing you installed before the problem appeared for the first time. Use the 6resmon command to identify the processes that are causing your problem. Even for serious problems, rather than reinstalling Windows, you are better off repairing of your installation or executing the 7DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth command. This allows you to repair the operating system without losing data.

To get your computer running as fast as it did on day one, you can 8reset your PC. Your personal files will remain intact, but any programs you installed will need to be reinstalled.

To help you analyze the Photos.exe process on your computer, the following programs have proven to be helpful: ASecurity Task Manager displays all running Windows tasks, including embedded hidden processes, such as keyboard and browser monitoring or Autostart entries. A unique security risk rating indicates the likelihood of the process being potential spyware, malware or a Trojan. A good Bantivirus software detects and removes sleeping spyware, adware, Trojans, keyloggers, malware and trackers from your hard drive.



Other processes

Photos.exe [all]


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