Invalid Value for Registry error for JPG, PNG while viewing Image files on Windows10

The Windows Registry is a collection of databases for storing information and settings for software programs, hardware devices, user preferences, and more. If after upgrading your PC to Windows 10, when you try to open / view image files with the native Photos app in Windows 10, you receive the Invalid value for register error message, then this message will help you. In this article, we will identify some known potential causes that could trigger the error, and then provide possible solutions that you can try to resolve this problem.

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

Invalid value for register

If you are faced with this Invalid value for register problem, you can try our recommended solutions below in no particular order and see if it helps to fix the problem.

1. Reset the Photos app
2. Delete the registry entries from the old version of the Photos application
3. Uninstall and reinstall the Photos app
4. Run the Windows Store application troubleshooter
5. Run the SFC / DISM scan.

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

Before you begin, we suggest that you try to open / view the image using Windows Photo Viewer or any similar third party application. The image should open well. However, if you prefer to use the Windows 10 built-in Photos app, you can try these solutions to resolve the issue.

1]Reset the Photos app

the Invalid value for register error when opening an image file correlates with the Photos application. Therefore, in this solution, we will reset the application to reset its configurations.

Here’s how:

• Press the Windows key + I to launch the Settings application.
• Click on applications option and select applications & Characteristics in the left pane.
• Look in the list and click on the Microsoft Pictures where the Pictures option.
• Click on Advanced The options under the application name.
• Scroll down and click on the Reset to reset the application.

When the process is complete, check if the problem is resolved. Otherwise, go to the next solution.

2]Delete the registry entries from the old version of the Photos application

In this solution, you can correct the error when opening any image file by deleting the old version of the registry entries for the Photos application.

Here’s how:

Caution: Since this is a registry operation, it is recommended that you back up the registry or create a system restore point in case the procedure does not work. 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 press Enter to launch the Registry Editor.

Next, access or access the registry key below:

HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareClassesLocal SettingsSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionAppModelRepositoryFamiliesMicrosoft.Windows. Photos_8wekyb3d8bbwe

In 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 a version number older than the other 4, right click one after the other on the 4 obsolete entries and select To erase in the context menu. Some users find 6 entries including 2 obsolete, delete the 2 obsolete registry entries.

Note: To be able to delete a registry entry, you must first take possession of it.

Once you’ve deleted the obsolete entries, quit Registry Editor, and then reset the Windows Store cache for good measure.

Then restart your computer and see if you can open / view images with the Photos app without the error. Otherwise, you can go to the next solution.

3]Uninstall and reinstall the Photos app

In this solution, you will need to uninstall the Photos app and then reinstall it. The reinstall rewrites to the registry with the correct settings, which works in most cases and should correct the error.

However, most of the default apps cannot be uninstalled using the conventional method, so you will need 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 administrator / elevated mode.

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

Get-AppxPackage *photos* | Remove-AppxPackage

Once the application is uninstalled, copy and paste the command below and press Enter to reinstall the application.

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

After reinstalling, check and see if the problem is resolved. Otherwise, go to the next solution.

4]Run the Windows Store application troubleshooter

In this solution, you can run the Windows Store application troubleshooter to resolve issues that may prevent the Photos app from working properly, which causes this error.

Proceed as follows:

• Go to Start > Settings > Update and security > Troubleshoot.
• To select Windows Store apps > Run the troubleshooter.

When the process is complete, check to see if the problem persists. If so, try the next solution.

5]Start SFC / DISM analysis

If you have system file errors, you may experience the Invalid value for register Mistake.

The SFC / DISM are tools in Windows that allow users to check for corruption in Windows system files and restore corrupted files.

For ease and convenience, you can run the analysis 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 add it .bat file extension – for example; SFC_DISM_scan.bat.

Run the batch file repeatedly with administrator privileges (right click on the saved file and select Execute as administrator from the context menu) until it reports no errors – at this point you can now restart your PC and see if the Photos app problem is resolved.

One of these solutions should solve the problem for you!