Cannot get Photos up after microsoft uninstalled app.

Check whether the Microsoft.Windows.Photos package exists on the PC, then re-register it specifically for your Windows account; this addresses the case where Store reports Photos as installed but it is missing from Start.

1. Check Photos in Installed apps

Open Start → Settings → Apps → Installed apps and search for Photos.

• If Microsoft Photos appears: select … → Advanced options → Repair.
• If Repair does not restore it, select Reset. Reset clears the app’s local settings/data, but it does not delete your picture files. Microsoft recommends Repair before Reset.^1^
• If Photos does not appear, continue below.

2. Check and repair registration for your account

Open Windows Terminal or PowerShell normally—do not choose “Run as administrator”—and run:

Get-AppxPackage -Name Microsoft.Windows.Photos

Get-AppxPackage -Name Microsoft.Windows.Photos |
  ForEach-Object {
    Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode `
      -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"
  }

The first command checks whether Photos is registered for your current account. The second repairs its registration using the installed package files. Microsoft documents this as the supported approach when an app package exists but its activation or registration is damaged.^2^

Afterward, sign out of Windows and sign back in, then search Start for Photos.

3. If the first command returns nothing

The package might exist on the computer but not be registered for your account:

1. Open Terminal (Admin).
2. Run this diagnostic command only:

Get-AppxPackage -Name Microsoft.Windows.Photos -AllUsers |
  Select-Object Name, PackageFamilyName, InstallLocation, Status

3. If it returns Microsoft Photos, copy its exact PackageFamilyName.
4. Close the administrator window.
5. Open a new non-administrator PowerShell window under your usual account and run:

Add-AppxPackage -RegisterByFamilyName `
  -MainPackage "<paste-the-PackageFamilyName-here>"

Using the non-administrator window is important because the package needs to be registered to the affected user, not merely to an administrator account.^2^

4. If Photos is absent for all users

That means the package is not currently present on the machine, despite the earlier Store message:

1. Open Microsoft Store and sign in.
2. Select Library → Get updates and allow Store itself to update.
3. Find Microsoft Photos in Library and select Install.
4. Restart Windows and check Settings → Apps → Installed apps again.

Microsoft’s Windows 11 Store procedure uses Library → Get updates, followed by Library → Install for missing apps.^3^

If Store again reports success but Get-AppxPackage -Name Microsoft.Windows.Photos -AllUsers still returns nothing, record the Store error and check Event Viewer → Applications and Services Logs → Microsoft → Windows → AppXDeployment-Server → Operational. Those deployment events are the appropriate evidence to provide when reopening the Microsoft support case.^2^

Another Windows reinstallation is not the next useful step, since that has already been completed without restoring Photos.

References

1. [Windows 11](https://support.microsoft.com/windows/apps/repair-apps-and-programs-in-windows#summary)
2. Modern, Inbox, and Microsoft Store Apps troubleshooting guidance
3. [Windows 11](https://support.microsoft.com/accounts-billing/fix-problems-with-apps-from-microsoft-store)