7 Best Fixes for ‘Class Not Registered’ Error When Opening Photos on Windows 11

Microsoft Photos is the default image viewing app for Windows 11. Usually it works fine, but sometimes you may see “Class not registered” error while viewing images in Photos app. The error mostly appears due to misconfigured DLL files, corrupted system files or other system related issues.

Whatever the reason, it is easy to fix Class not registered error on Windows 11. Below are all the working solutions that will help you to get rid of the problem for good.

1. Restart Windows Explorer

Whenever you encounter the Class Not Registered error, your first stop should be to restart Windows Explorer. The error message may appear due to a temporary problem in the system. And the best way to get rid of such problem is to restart Windows Explorer.

Here’s how to restart Windows Explorer on Windows 11:

Step 1: Press Windows key + X to open the Power User menu and choose Task Manager from the list.

2nd step: Right click on Windows Explorer and choose Restart.

2. Choose Photos as the Default Image Viewer

The error message will likely appear if the Photos app is not set as the default image viewing app. To set the Photos app as the default app for viewing images on your computer, follow the instructions below:

Step 1: Press Windows key + I to open the Settings app.

2nd step: Choose Applications from the left panel.

Step 3: Select Default apps.

Step 4: Locate and select the Photos app.

Step 5: Click on all commonly used image extensions such as JPG, JPEG, PNG, and GIF, choose Photos from the menu, and click the Set as Default button.

3. Reset the Photos app

If setting the Photos app as the default image viewing app didn’t help, you can try resetting the app to its default settings. This will be useful if the problem is caused by corruption in the Photos app.

Here are the steps to reset Photos app on Windows 11:

Step 1: Open Settings, choose Apps from the left panel, then select Installed Apps.

2nd step: Locate and click on the three dots next to Microsoft Photos and choose Advanced options.

Step 3: Click the Reset button.

Step 4: Click Reset on the confirmation that appears.

After resetting the Photos app, restart your computer and check if the problem exists.

4. Re-register Windows DLL files

DLLs (Dynamic Link Library) are files containing codes and data that other programs use to perform certain tasks. However, if an important DLL file is missing or corrupted, the application will not work properly and even the simplest features will not work.

One of the ways to solve this problem is to re-register the DLL files. You can do this by following the steps below:

Step 1: Press the Windows key to open the Start menu.

2nd step: Type Command Prompt in the Windows search bar and choose Run as administrator in the right pane.

Step 3: In the elevated Command Prompt window, type the following command and press Enter:

FOR /R C: %G IN (*.dll) DO "%systemroot%system32regsvr32.exe" /s "%G" regsvr32 ExplorerFrame.dll

5. Repair Microsoft Visual C++ Programs

The Microsoft Visual C++ library is an important component of the Windows operating system. It ensures that all applications work properly on your computer.

When the package gets corrupted due to sudden system shutdown, virus attack or any other reason then you are prone to errors like Class not registered. Fortunately, you can use the built-in repair option and eliminate the error. To do this, follow the instructions below:

Step 1: Open the Start menu, type Control Panel, and press Enter.

2nd step: Choose Uninstall a program.

Step 3: Right-click the latest Microsoft Visual C++ package installed on the device and choose Edit.

Step 4: Choose Repair from the prompt that appears.

Once the repair is complete, you will need to restart your computer to apply the changes.

6. Reinstall Microsoft Store

Another main reason behind the error message can be corruption in the Microsoft Store. You can quickly remove the corruption by reinstalling the Microsoft Store. To do this, open the command prompt as an administrator, type the following commands and press Enter.

Get-AppXPackage | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)AppXManifest.xml"}

7. Run SFC and DISM scan

Are you still facing Class not registered error while using Photos app? If yes, then you will need to perform an SFC scan. It is a built-in utility that detects and eliminates corrupt files from your computer.

To perform an SFC scan, open an elevated Command Prompt window, type the following command and press Enter:

sfc /scannow

After the scan, restart your device and check if the issue still occurs. If so, you will need to run a DISM scan. DISM scan repairs damaged and corrupt system images and files.

To run the DISM scan, run the following commands one by one in the elevated Command Prompt window:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

View photos without interruption

The Class Not Registered error can be very irritating, especially when you want to view your favorite photos on your computer. Luckily, this is a common system issue and can be easily fixed. Just try the above solutions to fix the problem permanently.