Disable Windows Photo Viewer Overrides via Regedit

This guide provides a straightforward method to disable legacy application association overrides for Windows Photo Viewer using the Windows Registry Editor. By modifying or removing these specific registry values, you can prevent legacy Photo Viewer hooks from automatically overriding your preferred default image viewing applications in Windows.

Step 1: Open the Registry Editor

  1. Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog box.
  2. Type regedit and press Enter or click OK.
  3. Click Yes when prompted by User Account Control (UAC).

Step 2: Navigate to the File Associations Key

In the Registry Editor address bar, paste the following path and press Enter:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Photo Viewer\Capabilities\FileAssociations

(Note: If you only want to affect the current user, check the corresponding path under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Photo Viewer\Capabilities\FileAssociations if present).

Step 3: Remove or Modify Legacy Overrides

  1. In the right pane, locate the string values corresponding to image file formats (such as .bmp, .dib, .jpe, .jpeg, .jpg, .jxr, .png, .wdp, .tif, and .tiff).
  2. To completely stop Windows Photo Viewer from overriding these extensions, select the individual format keys you wish to disable.
  3. Right-click the selected string values and choose Delete.
  4. Click Yes to confirm the deletion.

Step 4: Remove Photo Viewer from Registered Applications (Optional)

To prevent Windows from presenting Photo Viewer as a registered capability handler: 1. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\RegisteredApplications 2. Locate the string value named Windows Photo Viewer. 3. Right-click Windows Photo Viewer and select Delete.

Step 5: Apply Changes

  1. Close the Registry Editor.
  2. Restart your computer or restart Windows Explorer via Task Manager to apply the updated association settings.
  3. Open Windows Settings > Apps > Default Apps to choose your preferred default image viewer without interference from legacy overrides.