Windows is one of the world’s most powerful operating systems. It has various user-friendly interfaces and customization abilities and is aimed at the user experience. To make fixing issues easier, Microsoft has incorporated troubleshooters, which take care of most of the bugs and glitches automatically. Unfortunately, more serious problems cannot be fixed, and users are left with searching for answers on various online forums. Users sometimes face trouble while performing basic tasks such as viewing pictures. The own Photo App of Windows lets the users edit, compare, view, make movies, and create albums out of the images. Users have reported a file system error 2147219196 while trying to open images using Microsoft Photos. Some of the common reasons for this issue include unsuccessful updates, corrupted system files, deviations in settings, etc. In this guide, we have provided some possible solutions that can help you eliminate this Windows photo app file system error 2147219196.
Possible causes of File System Error (-2147219196)
- Interference because of non-Microsoft services
- Improper permissions of the folders of the app
- Errors in the settings of the store apps
- Bugs in the system update
Ways to fix file system error 2147219196
Run the troubleshooter of Windows store apps
A built-in troubleshooter is present in Windows 10, which automatically deals with errors related to the apps that belong to Microsoft Store, like Photos. To run this:-
First, launch the Start menu and select Settings
Next, select the option that is labeled as Update and recovery
Next, on the sidebar, select Troubleshoot
Now, select Additional troubleshooters
After that, select Windows Store Apps and then navigate to Run the troubleshooter.
Repair Microsoft Photo App
When the Microsoft Store troubleshooter cannot fix the file system error 2147219196, the next course of action is to repair the Photo app. To perform this:-
Select Apps after you have opened the Settings app
Then scroll down the app list and select Microsoft photos and navigate to Advanced options
To shut down every live process related to the Photos app, select Terminate. After that, select Repair
Reset Microsoft Photos App
If you see that repairing photos is not making any difference, then try to rest the app into it’s defaults. For resetting, users need to follow the directions in the sections stated above but have to instead select Terminate and then Reset.
Install Microsoft Store Updates
If the above fixes didn’t eliminate the pop-up message file system error 2147219196, it is better to check for and install any updates relating to photos and the rest of the store-related apps.
First, open the Microsoft Store
Then at the window’s lower left, select the Library icon. Open the Store menu on the older versions of Microsoft store and instead select Downloads and Updates
To update every Microsoft app in Windows 10, select Get Updates
Re-register the Photos App
The fix we have mentioned below includes re-registration of the Photos app with Windows 10. This procedure involves the execution of a command through an elevated console of Command Prompt.
Into the Start menu, type cmd, and to open Command Prompt having administrative rights, press Ctrl + Shift + Enter
Type the command that we have mentioned below- PowerShell-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Command “& {$manifest = (Get-AppxPackage *Photos*).InstallLocation + ‘\AppxManifest.xml’ ; Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $manifest}”
Then press Enter
Re-register every Microsoft Store App
When the re-registration of the Photos app does not help you, you can try to re-register all the Microsoft Store apps available on your PC through an elevated console of Windows PowerShell.
Either right-click on the Start button, or else you can press Windows + X. Then choose Windows PowerShell (Admin)
Type the command that we have mentioned below- Get-AppXPackage | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}
Hit Enter
Reinstall Photos App
When the cause of the error 2147219196 is file corruption, totally removing and then installing the app of Windows Photos can fix the issue. Though, the procedure needs to run the command as a System user. You will need a tool named PsExec for that:-
On Windows Sysinternals, navigate to the PsExec page and select Download PsTools.
Right-click on the downloaded ZIP file and then choose Extract files
After that set your folder path as C:/PSTools and then select Extract
Your next job is to open the elevated Windows PowerShell console. Then, execute the command mentioned below
Get-AppxPackage *photos* | Remove-AppxPackage
After opening the elevated Command Prompt console, execute the command mentioned below-
C:\PSTools\PsExec.exe -sid C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe
Agree to the license terms of SysInternals software. You will see that a separate console of Command Prompt is launching automatically.
The command mentioned below has to be executed-
rd /s “C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.Windows.Photos_2021.21090.10008.0_x64__8wekyb38
Please note that the directory of the Photo app changes with every Windows update. To auto-fill the command with proper names, you must press the Tab key just after rd /s “C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.Windows.Photos_. You might need to cycle via the matching entries by pressing Tab repeatedly unless you can view x64, which is included as a part of the file’s name.
All the Command Prompt windows have to be closed, and then Reinstall the Photos through the Microsoft Store.
Alter the Photos App Ownership to the TrustedInstaller
When you see that the issue persists, you can change ownership of your Photos App to the TrustedInstaller, a particular user account in Windows 10, and check whether it is helping.
First, open an elevated console of Windows PowerShell. Then execute the command mentioned below: takeown /F “%ProgramFiles%\WindowsApps” /r /d y
Then open the File Explorer, select View, and then on the menu bar, navigate to Hidden items.
Now navigate to the location Local Disk C, then to Program Files, and finally to WindowsApps
On the folder that is labeled as Windows.Photos_[version number], right-click on that and select Properties
Please note that when you view various similar-looking folders, pick the directory containing x64 as a part of it’s file name.
Now navigate to the Security tab, and after that, select Advanced
Next to owner, select Change
Into the vacant box, type NT SERVICE\TrustedInstaller and select OK
Then click on the checkbox available next to the option Replace owner on sub containers and objects.
After that, choose Apply and then Ok. You have to follow that after you have exited the Property window of the folder
Finally, you can register the Windows Photos app that we mentioned earlier.
Install the Windows 10 updates that are pending
The updates of the Windows 10 can improve the stability of the operating system and the apps. Till now, if you can view the message “File system error (-2147219196)”, it is now time for you to use the Windows update.
First, open the Settings app and then select the Windows update or Update and Security.
Then choose Check for Updates
For applying any pending updates, you can select Download and install.
Uninstall the latest windows update
It is a rare incident that Windows 10 ends up breaking things. When the problem with the Photos app happens just after you have installed an update of the operating system, then you may think of reinstalling it.
First, open the Settings app and then select Windows update or Update and Security.
Then choose View Update History
Next, choose Uninstall Updates
After that, select the recent update and skip any servicing or security stack updates
Now, click on Uninstall
Run a DISM and SFC scan
When nothing works for you, it is now time when you need to run the DISM (Deployment Image Servicing & Management) and SFC (System File Checker) tools. These help in resolving issues associated with the operating system.
DISM Tool
After the scanning is completed, restart your PC and then execute the command
DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /Restorehealth
SFC Tool
Run the following command after opening an elevated console of Windows PowerShell
sfc/scannow
Wrapping Up
The fixes mentioned above must have helped you resolve the issue “File System Error (-2147219196)” in Windows 10 with the Photos app. If not, you can try to use an alternative app for Windows photo viewing until Microsoft fixes the problem in it’s subsequent update. Now, if you are impatient to wait, you are left with an option to perform a system restore and then revert the Windows to factory defaults.
Experiencing difficulties with your Device, check out our “How To” page on how to resolve some of these issues.
