Microsoft: Windows 11 can't open Photos due to non-Admin Group policy/ CSP policy conflict

Earlier today, Microsoft confirmed that a bug was affecting the right-click context menu of Taskbar and Start menu apps like the New Teams and the New Outlook for Windows. The company has now confirmed another issue, this time, with the Photos app wherein the application would fail to start due to a conflict with a non-admin-based group policy or CSP (configuration service provider) policy.

On its Windows health dashboard website, Microsoft has explained how the issue reared its head after a recent update to the Photos app which now fails when the BlockNonAdminUserInstall CSP policy or the equivalent Group Policy is enabled. The good news is that this should not affect home users.

The tech giant writes:

If your device has updated the Microsoft Photos app from the Windows store on or after June 4, 2024 (version 2024.11050.29009.0 and above), you might face issues starting the application. On launching the app, it might display a spinning circle, after which it might disappear. If you have the Procmon monitoring tool installed in your device, this error might display as Access Denied error on Process Exit (‘Exit Status: -2147024891’).

This issue is most likely to occur if you have enabled either the Prevent non-admin users from installing packaged Windows apps policy or its Configuration Service provider (CSP) equivalent policy, BlockNonAdminUserInstall.

Users with Windows Home edition are unlikely to experience this issue, as the policies which may cause this issue to happen are less likely to be applied in home environments.

The problem affects Windows 11 versions 23H2 and 22H2 and the company says that it is working on the fix and it should be available in a future update.

Other issues currently affecting Windows include a high CPU usage bug related to Phone Link and a OneDrive issue wherein shared folders seem to be bugged as they have suddenly been transformed into internet shortcuts.