Discord member @triple asked the question: How do you replace Windows 11's Photos App with the old Windows Photo Viewer?
Instructions for W10 have been posted since 2015, but W11 requires some new steps. Photo Viewer isn't a standalone app, it's a DLL called by CLSID file type associations. https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/14312-restore-windows-photo-viewer-windows-10-a.html
We need a reg file to restore Photo Viewer's file type associations, a W11 tool to get around the registry's FTA security hashes, and one more reg to prevent Explorer from asking for confirmation every time you open a file type for the first time.
1. Download Restore_Windows_Photo_Viewer_ALL_USERS_with_Sort_order_fix.reg and
3. Create a new $OEM$\$1\Setup folder under the ISO mount's sources folder, and copy SetUserFTA.exe there.
4. From Post-Setup's User - Execution queue, run SetUserFTAconfig.bat
Instructions for W10 have been posted since 2015, but W11 requires some new steps. Photo Viewer isn't a standalone app, it's a DLL called by CLSID file type associations. https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/14312-restore-windows-photo-viewer-windows-10-a.html
We need a reg file to restore Photo Viewer's file type associations, a W11 tool to get around the registry's FTA security hashes, and one more reg to prevent Explorer from asking for confirmation every time you open a file type for the first time.
1. Download Restore_Windows_Photo_Viewer_ALL_USERS_with_Sort_order_fix.reg and
Disable_Open_with_to_select_default_app_for_file_type_when_new_app_installed.reg from TenForums. Credit to Shawn Brink!
From the Registry tab, import both reg files.
2. Download SetUserFTA.exe from Christoph Kolbicz's SetUserFTA: UserChoice Hash defeated – Set File Type Associations per User or GroupDownload SetUserFTAconfig.bat script (below).
3. Create a new $OEM$\$1\Setup folder under the ISO mount's sources folder, and copy SetUserFTA.exe there.
4. From Post-Setup's User - Execution queue, run SetUserFTAconfig.bat