FIX: Windows photo gallery not working in Windows 10

by Ivan Jenic

Troubleshooting Expert

Last update:January 27, 2021

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Users have reported that Windows Live Photo Gallery fails to start and they are greeted with the Photo Gallery encountered an error loading WLXPhotoLibraryMain.dll and can’t start. Error code 0x8007007e message.

According to the reports, it seems that Windows Live Photo Gallery is using MF.dll and MFplat.dll files, and if these files are missing from your computer then you probably won’t be able to start this application.

As for these two files, they are also used by Media Player, and if you don’t have Media Player installed, then you are probably missing these two files as well.

You might not know, but there is a version of Windows 10 that doesn’t come with Media Player, and you might have accidentally installed that version, but don’t worry, there’s no need to reinstall anything.

What do I do if Windows Photo Gallery won’t open?

1. Download Media Feature Pack for Windows 10

1. Go to Microsoft’s website and search for Media Feature Pack for N and KN versions of Windows 10.
2. Download the file and install it, and it should install all the files that you need for Media Player, and in our case for Windows Live Photo Gallery.
3. After the installation is complete your Windows Live Photo Gallery should work normally.

This is a simple solution, so be sure to try it if Windows Live Photo Gallery is not working.

2. Use a different photo viewer

This is one of the simplest solutions if you’re tired of trying to fix the Windows Live Photo Gallery tool.

There are plenty of photo viewer tools out there that allow you to import, view, filter your photos, and much more.

One variant which we really love is the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, a complete solution that offers much more than a simple gallery, and its proved to be very stable. 

If Photo Gallery not responding, perhaps you should consider an alternative, and currently, there’s no better alternative than Adobe Lightroom.

Here’s what this bad baby can do:

• Edit pictures on the go, directly from a mobile, web or desktop application
• Includes cloud storage for all of your pictures
• Pre-defined tools will aid you in editing
• Built for photography, but with a simple and easy to use design

Adobe Lightroom

Adobe Lightroom is a professional photo viewer that can help you organize and edit your photos.

Free trialVisit website

3. Download Windows 10 with built-in Media Player

This is a more drastic solution, but you can download Windows 10 with Media Player preinstalled, and you’ll have all the files you need to run Windows Live Photo Gallery.

If you don’t know how to do this, hire someone to do it for you.

These are just a couple of quick solutions that you can try if Windows Photo Gallery is not working for you.

Did you find a different solution on your own? Share it with us in the comments section below!