Recently a number of Windows 11 users have been reporting that they are not able to use the built-in Photos app. Some of the users have reported that they are not even able to launch the app in the first place and some are apparently stuck on the screen where a spinning circle is appearing followed by the message reading 'Access Denied error on Process Exit”. Microsoft had earlier said that it was working on the issue and looking for a fix. The company has yet to find a permanent fix to the problem, however, it has shared a temporary workaround to fix the issue that is impacting Windows 11 22H2 and Windows 23H2 version users.


The catch with the temporary fix is that it will only work for those devices that have turned on the 'Prevent non-admin users from installing packaged Windows app' setting or if they have enabled the 'BlockNonAdminUserInstall Configuration service provider'. As per the tech giant, the aforementioned problem is less likely to affect the users who are running their systems on Windows 11 Home due to these policies not being enabled on them.


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How To Fix Microsoft Photos App On Windows 11



  • Go to the Microsoft website and search for the latest WinAppSDK

  • Once the page opens on your system, you will see the option to download the package for x64, x86 and ARM-based systems

  • Choose as per the requirement of your system, in most of the cases, the x64 version works for modern laptops which have been launched in the past few years. You might need to download the x86 installer if your system is older than that

  • When the file gets downloaded, right-click on it and select the option ‘Run as administrator’. Following this, a command prompt window will appear on your screen

  • In some time, the command prompt window will close by itself indicating that the installation has been completed