I haven't got a clue why my Windows Photo Gallery stopped working, but several weeks ago that's exactly what it did. I couldn't get it to stay open longer than 10 seconds before getting a message that said:
Windows Photo Gallery has stopped working (with an action button advising me to close the program)Microsoft will notify you if a solution is found.
Well, since I have other photo editing software applications I could work with instead of Photo Gallery, it wasn't a big deal. But those who know me, know I can't stand having a program issues without finding out how to resolve them.
It didn't take me long before I found a post authored by a technician who explained exactly what to do to get Windows Photo Gallery up and running once again. Of course, I was slightly paranoid about following the instructions for fear of messing my computer up more, but figured I'd give it a try anyhow.
Low and behold, within 2 minutes, my Windows Photo Gallery was working again! Thanks to the tech who was kind enough to post a resolution to the annoying problem.
So, if you are receiving the same message that your Windows Photo Gallery has stopped working, follow these instructions below:
1) Control Panel > Folder Options > View > Show hidden files and folders
2) Navigate to: [drive letter]:\Users\[user]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Photo Gallery
3) Delete all contents of the Windows Photo Gallery folder(or back-up if you wish)
4) Start Windows Photo Gallery
All files should still be there and options should stay intact, but the problem
should be resoved. It may take a minute or so to rebuild your photo gallery.
Thanks to all computer geeks who are willing to help those of us that are going bald from pulling our hair out over trivial issues like this.