Windows 10 Photo app hijacks camera import

[perkcan]

Windows 10 Photo application hijacks the import of images from my Canon PowerShot.  Does anyone have information about how to successfully set CameraWindow as the default application loaded when a Canon camera is connected via USB?

(For the record, I'm not interested in commentary on the Photo App or how to use it.  I have explored the settings enough and played with it enough to already know it is an cheap, inferior program.  I simply want to configure CameraWindow how it worked on Window 7, how it was designed to work.)

Prior to Windows 10 upgrade, I had Windows 7 with CameraWindow 8 installed.  When I plugged my PowerShot SX510 into the USB (or any of my canon cameras), CameraWindow would start automatically.

Not only did CameraWindow start automatically on Windows 7 (and prior versions), but it was easy to configure the default applications for Auto Start on Windows 7.  Windows actually allowed changing the settings and honored the settings I chose.

But on Windows 10, it ALWAYS starts the Photo application.  I have changed Auto Play settings, default application settings, device settings (Control Panel - Device and Printers) for the camera, but NOTHING works to stop the new Photo App from starting.  In the Device settings, the "Download Images..." option lets me choose CameraWindow, but on the General Settings page, another option says "Import  photos and videos (Photo)" but is greyed out, so it can't be changed.  Microsoft essentially forces the use of their own software and ignores the other settings.

It is very annoying on many levels.  Perhaps the worst is that Windows 10 removed all ability for the user to configure options in this regard!   Second, the Photo app has very limited settings:  There is no control over the import process, like the folder structure, image rotation options, etc.  Finally, CameraWindow itself has no option to make itself the default.

[ScottyP]

If you are an IT pro and you are in there doing things the average photographer would not even consider doing in Windows (like me) perhaps your question is more on computers and less on photography and maybe it should be posted on a serious computer site like Ars Technica or something, not on this forum.  

[perkcan]

Yes this is a "computer" problem, but with specific software distributed by Canon for downloading images from Canon cameras.  As I often do for problems with software for particular hardware, I go to the manufacturer's website and forum.  Great companies with any common sense monitor forums and even encourage users to post issues and problems like I have done.  The main idea is that the community can contribute at the same time that the company observes and provides additional feedback.  This is the natural place to come and post this kind of issue.  For goodness sake, it is in the Camera > Software forum!

As I said before, the culture on this forum is rather strange that fellow users discourage the kind of detail that is supposed to make these forums truely useful.   Scott, have you considered that your recommendation should actually be turned on its head?  These forums should be used for posting issues specific to Canon Cameras and Canon software, including problems with software functions and compatibility, include detailed solutions and technical details.  If people simply want general advice on photography or answers to casual usage issues, they should find other specialized forums that would be more appropriate.  Maybe even better would be for someone at Canon to observe and respond to this type of issue.  They should create technical and/or advanced forum topics if they find their general users are scared of or cannot handle technical details necessary to fix problems.

I'm surprised that my brief mention of being a computer expert (in a sarcastic context) prompted such replies.  I was not declaring to the world that I am some kind of know-it-all.    I was simply pointing out what a silly generalization Waddizzle made when s/he implied that many (if not most) problems of this type are simply due to people configuring their systems incorrectly or that they misunderstand the settings, etc.  Besides, it's crazy to think just because I have some specialized knowledge or skill that I should go elsewhere.  On the contrary, my expertise and experience have taught me to come to forums just like this for answers and to share my experiences with the community.

[Waddizzle]

"  I was simply pointing out what a silly generalization Waddizzle made when s/he implied that many (if not most) problems of this type are simply due to people configuring their systems incorrectly or that they misunderstand the settings, etc.  "

Operator error is the most common cause of most issues.  I have nearly 40 years of experience to back up that observation.  What about you?  As far as being a computer expert, I have been a computer programmer and troubleshooter for decades. 

[EDIT]  I find your repeated objections to my simple warnings and cautions to be most unusual.

I go all the way back to a PDP-8 and an ASR-33.  "I've been fooling computers since 1971."

BTW, no one objected to your advice.  I simply posted a warning to unwary readers, that's all.

[Esther4371]

I know this thread is 2 years old, but I found it on a google search of my hijacking problem.  Just wanted to say, for anyone else finding there way here aftger all this time... this solution worked like a charm, thanks 🙂

[pudergeek]

It appears that a recent Windows Update may have caused this issue as we had three computers experience the issue simultaneously.

The solution was slightly different for each computer, but here are the ways I got it to work:

Step 1:

Control Panel>Hardware and Sound>AutoPlay

Scroll to bottom and change default for that camera to the desired program.

If it doesn't give you any options other than "Import photos and videos (Photos)" (which is the app we're trying to avoid), move to the next step.

Step 2:

Install the newest version of CameraWindow from Canon's support site as mentioned in a previous comment.

Unplug the camera, plug it back in, and see if it pops up with more options of what to do when the camera is plugged in. If not, try Step 1 again.

If it still isn't giving you any other options (such as "Open folder to view files (Windows Explorer)" which is what I wanted) then move onto the next step.

Step 3:

Uninstall the CameraWindow software.

Unplug the camera, plug it back in, and see if it pops up with more options of what to do when the camera is plugged in. If not, try Step 1 again.

These steps seemed to work for me. If you still don't get anywhere, try installing and uninstalling the Canon software and then going Control Panel\Hardware and Sound\Devices and Printers, right click your camera, click "remove device," unplug your camera, and plug it back in again.

Hopefully something in there can help somebody!

[Jamykins1]

Thank you for this!  I have been looking on the forum  to figure out how to pick and choose the photos I need to import from my camera to my desktop.  You've given me the solution 🙂