Photo Gallery Missing Files

I just reviewed your thread and it looks as though I did not forget the cCleaner step.

Let me do some thinking now that I have a full stomach and a few tests on my Win10 box

Bill
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Ok, it's as I thought ... WL 2011 is getting in the way. The steps taken should have cleaned 2011 up and allowed 2012 to be installed.

The transition from WL 2011 to WL 2012 was always troublesome. The steps you've already taken worked well before ... but this is Win10 and a LOT has changed from Win7

PhotoGallery installed without issue on my Win10 box - but I didn't have WL 2011 installed
(not sure if you can even get WL 2011 anymore )

If you're up for it - it might take a few attempts and seem as though you're repeating things (you will be bc 2011 needs to be removed and ... well .. we've tried once)

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I would like to see what the registry holds for Windows Live

Right click Windows icon on taskbar
Select Command Prompt (Admin) from the menu

reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Live" /s > %TEMP%\WLreg.txt
exit

Attach the WLreg.txt file in your temp folder to a post

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See what wlarp2011 does if you just run it as admin without the parameters
Downloads folder? wlarp or wlarp2011 (if you renamed it)

Right click Windows icon on taskbar
Select Command Prompt (Admin) from the menu
cd %USERPROFILE%\Downloads
wlarp (or wlarp2011)

Pick Remove one or more ... programs
checkmark in anything NOT Photogallery (you'll use Pgm & Feats to normally uninstall that one)

if you were able to remove the 2011 components
Try running Photogallery from Start

if nothing other than Photogallery shows,

cd "C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Installer"
wlarp (this is the 2012 version)
try to remove the other Live pgms (NOT Photogallery)

exit

if you were able to remove the 2011 components using wlarp 2012
Try running Photogallery from Start

Restart the machine and then try photogallery

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I'll stop here, the next steps are pretty much the same thing we did before
Uninstall Windows Essentials from Pgms & Feats
Rename Windows Live folders
Clean up the register with cCleaner
Restart the machine

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deviation from before: look in registry for WL 2011 remnants. This is a royal pain in a forum format - simple if the machine is in front of me. Time and care is all it really takes though + lots of questions.
Since the WL 2011 was installed on your machine and not on mine, I have to ask you a bunch of questions.

I'm not sure if all of the WL 2011 pgms are registered under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Live so I'm unsure of how to eradicate them from the system if normal channels don't work.

People use Revo uninstaller, but I've never been successful with it - maybe they're using the paid version (or I just don't get it )

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There is another option ... Clean install Win10, then install Photogallery

The drawbacks are you have to
- backup your personal data
- find keys to purchased pgms - easy with Belarc advisor
- install Win10 on a blank drive - that's easy enough
- Install your favorite pgms - best to visit vendor's site and download current version if available
- restore your personal data

The advantages are
- Win10 is crispy clean after Windows Update settles down
- You have new and current pgms
- Many issues caused by the upgrade never rear their ugly head
- Junk carried over from the upgrade is gone

Read though this tutorial to get an idea of the process
Windows 10 - Clean Install - Windows 10 Forums

The only thing my process differs is at Step 5 - I prefer to clean the drive, not use the process in Step 12 (or 13 if UEFI)
Not really a big difference, but the tut steps only remove partitions. The Clean drive removes all information from the drive.

Pay strict attention to MBR vs. UEFI - the key is how you create the install media (UEFI requires the thumbdrive to be formatted FAT32 - the install will not work if it is NTFS and you have a UEFI system)

Windows Update provides the best device drivers - if any device shows a warning in Device manager, then and only then should you go to the PC mfgr or device vendor site for the driver (it took me a while to become a true beliver - but ever since Win8, I let WU do the drivers stuff)

The product key (now referred to Digital Entitlement) has been registered with MS, so you do NOT have to enter a key when you Clean install - just skip it.

I also prefer to create a local account, then switch to a MS account after Win10 is installed if you want.

That's about it - the tut explains every well. Read it, ask questions, understand each step, do your prep work ... then do the Clean install.

I'm not bailing on the original issue - I will work with you through it if you're willing.
I just know that a Clean install is the best way to avoid issues with Win10

I'll be around some today, but it's Memorial Weekend ... I'll catch up on your post Sunday or Tuesday.

Digest this post - do the wlarp stuff if you feel comfortable doing that
- forget the uninstall, rename folders, cCleaner stuff for now

That's cool.

Not really complicated, but time consuming.

Picasa 3 might be useful even though Google moved their focus to the cloud. Get it - that's a pun ... focus ... photos ... I didn't say it was a good pun

I also mentioned the Windows Photos App - try it to see if it meets your needs.

It was my pleasure working with you.

I'll stay subscribed to this thread if you decide to take another stab at it ...

Enjoy your holiday weekend - hug a Veteran

Bill
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Thought of something else - a simple thing

You said that it fires up if you right click an image and select Photogalley ... so perhaps the shortcut is messed up.
Can you launch Photogallery from the install location?
If you can, then try pinning the exe to Start.

What happens if you click Photogallery in Start now?

Holiday is over - I'm back to work

I should have looked harder at the Photogallery(PG) install on my Win10 box.

Found that SQL3.1CE was installed along with PG. Searching MS returned nothing for that version - only the ones you found.

But wait ... there's more

SQL3.1CE can be daownloaded here.
Cnet > Download.com houses the link, but the file comes from rto.micrsoft.com

If you want to try one more time ...
Uninstall the SQL CE you previously installed
download and install the 3.1 version - you might get compatibility issue warnings - skip them
and now try Photogallery

Or, just use Picassa

Bill
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