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  • Two copies of Microsoft Picture It?

Two copies of Microsoft Picture It?

April 15, 2005 / Dave Taylor / Windows PC Help / 23 Comments

Dave, I recently had to reinstall Windows XP home. After that I then set up Verizon DSL for the first time. When I attach my digital camera, now, I receive the usual window that gives me the choices where to download my pictures, but I noticed that there is the same program (Microsoft Picture It Express) is listed twice. When I click on anyone one of them the software doesn’t load. I have to click on Start -> All Programs -> Microsoft Picture It. Then the software loads. I would like to know is how can I delete one of the Microsoft Picture It programs? Or should I uninstall then reinstall it? If so how may I do this?

It’s hard to know whether you have two copies of the program or whether something else is a bit messed up on your computer, actually. A first test, to see if you have two copies of Picture It, would be to search for the program on your system.
Go to Start -> Search -> For Files or Folders… and type in “PictureIt” then see if more than one program is matched. (Since I don’t have Microsoft Picture It, I’m not 100% sure that’s the name of the actual program. You might need to experiment a bit to find what Picture It is called on your computer).
I’m going to guess that you only have one copy on your computer, though, and that the reason you’re being presented with more than one copy of the program when you hook up your camera, and that neither can launch, is that your file associations are corrupted.
In a nutshell, Windows has a mini database that associates file types with specific programs that should be used when those files are opened. “.doc” goes to Microsoft Word, “.xls” to Excel, and so on.
If your file associations are messed up, then Microsoft Windows doesn’t know what programs it should associate with digital camera images (JPEGs, most likely), and the kind of problem you’re experiencing can occur.
The good news: there are a number of utilities that can help you reestablish the correct mapping, and I’ll recommend that you check out Windows XP File Association Fixes, in particular JPE/JPG/JPEG Association Fixes.
Good luck with this, and do come back and report on whether this fixes the problem.

Thanks to Sahil Tandon for his assistance
About the Author: Dave Taylor has been involved with the online world since the early days of the Internet. Author of over 20 technical books, he runs the popular AskDaveTaylor.com tech help site. You can also find his gadget reviews on YouTube and chat with him on Twitter as @DaveTaylor.

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Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!

23 comments on “Two copies of Microsoft Picture It?”

  1. Cynthia says:
    November 28, 2012 at 4:33 pm

    Hi, Dave,
    I have MS PictureIt! Publishing Platinum. I don’t use it for photos, but for the graphics/cards, etc. However, my computer crashed awhile back, so I upgraded my MS Office to Office 2010 and now have Publisher. I am not as fond of Publisher’s graphics, since it’s more of a business application, and would like to use the graphics files from PictureIt. I was never able to load the graphics disks onto my computer – they wouldn’t work that way for some reason. Is there a way to load the PictureIt graphics files into Publisher?
    Many thanks,
    Cynthia

    Reply
  2. Dave Taylor says:
    November 24, 2012 at 11:21 am

    Thanks for your note, Steve. I’ve turned it into a new post, using Win8 as a demonstration system:
    https://www.askdavetaylor.com/change_default_app_for_pictures_on_windows_8.html
    Hope that helps you out!

    Reply
  3. Steve says:
    November 23, 2012 at 6:17 pm

    Dave,
    I had someone make some changes to my computer so it would run faster. Now when I open a picture they always open in windows photo viewer. How can I make my ‘Micro soft picture it premium 10’ as my default again? Thank you and I would be glad to make a contribution,
    Steve

    Reply
  4. Bernie says:
    June 25, 2012 at 9:43 am

    My Dell XP computer crashed…So I purchased a refurbished Dell with XP Professional installed on it. I loaded Windows Picture It! that came with the original computer. However, when I ask it to open a photo I get an error message:
    MICROSOFT VISUAL C++ Runtime Library
    Runtime Error!
    ProgramC:\Program Files\Microsoft Picture It!2002\
    pip.exe
    abnormal program termination
    Can you help me manually fix the error? I would be so grateful.

    Reply
  5. Linda says:
    August 25, 2011 at 11:52 am

    I had MS Picture 10 premium deluxe. I loved it. Then one day I awoke to dind I had a the library with the pics, but the program was now MS photo 10 premium and both programs go to a dos screen that say 16 bit color system? I have all of the components of the Picture it program, but i can’t put them back together. I will get around to buying you a cup of coffee . . .my husband is at the store withthe CC. Know that I really appreciate your help with this! Thank you a billion times over. Kindest regards, Linda

    Reply
  6. Tom says:
    November 13, 2010 at 7:47 pm

    I have used Microsoft Picture It for years and love the program. Recently I bought a Mac, prior to purchase, I checked the web if Picture It was available for Mac and the answer seemed to be yes. I bought OS X and now find no Picture It software for this version available anywhere, hopefully someday they will have a version, I will be first in line to buy it. My question, is there a Mac compatible software out there that is a close clone to Picture It

    Reply
  7. Casey says:
    September 30, 2009 at 10:26 am

    Hi Dave,
    I have the same question as one lady below. I have always used Picture it 99 and LOVE it, but lately it is giving me so many problems. It closes down unexpectedly almost every time I use it. I am wanting to uninstall it and reinstall. However, I am afraid if I do this I will lose all my MIX. files which would be a huge disaster. Do you know if I will have access to those files when I reinstall? Thanks so much!
    Casey

    Reply
  8. sam says:
    July 8, 2009 at 8:32 pm

    Dave – SO glad you’re there for us clueless ones!! Picture It! Premium always has worked, but my husband “cleaned up” the computer so it’s faster, and while my dang pictures still load into the library from my camera, when I try to edit them I get a Picture It! vertical toolbar and a white space where the pic should be. If I click “auto adjust” it responds like normal, even asks if I want to save the changes I’ve made! But there’s no photo there. I’ve tried reloading the software, editing different photos, calling Microsoft (India) and cursing. Any words of whizdom for me?

    Reply
  9. john davis says:
    May 31, 2009 at 1:54 am

    i HAVE BEEN USING MS PICTURE IT FOR MANY YEARS AND
    FIND IT A BRILLIANT PROGRAMME,BUT I HAVE JUST UPDATED MY COMPUTER AND WHEN I TRY TO RUN IT I GET AN ERROR MESSAGE [GIF GRAPHICS MISSING] I WOULD APPRICIATE ANY HELP ON THIS
    MANY THANKS

    Reply
  10. Karen says:
    October 28, 2008 at 2:00 pm

    How can I make Picture It! the default program on my computer. I use two digital cameras and want picture it to be the default. Thanks.

    Reply
  11. Jean Cochran says:
    October 15, 2008 at 6:00 pm

    I have Microsoft Picture It Publishing Platinum v2002. When my computer crashed and I reinstalled Picture It, but when I pull it up and click on pick a project the screen goes blank and the program disappears. I had this problem once before but can’t remember what the fix was.

    Reply
  12. Geoff says:
    August 6, 2008 at 8:23 pm

    Dave,
    I scanned a photo into Picture It Express 9 (windows XP). I used a high resolution scan resulting in an error from Picture It saying that I had exceeded the pixel limit and the program could not open the file. I want to find the file and delete it since it seems to be using a lot of hard drive space. I have no file name-Picture It just called it “uncompleted project ” without a file name . How can I find it and delete it?

    Reply
  13. Dion says:
    August 4, 2008 at 10:26 am

    Dave, Picture It worked on my computer before, but now i am unable to open some pictures that I want to work on. The message I get is ” Picture It is unable to load this photo” It use to load all my pictures but for some reason won’t load many of them now? Any ideas?

    Reply
  14. Barry says:
    June 20, 2008 at 8:21 am

    How can I get Picture It 99 to work with Vista??

    Reply
  15. Selina says:
    June 19, 2008 at 10:12 pm

    I want to this pic

    Reply
  16. Judith says:
    June 6, 2008 at 8:24 pm

    Dave,
    I have picture it, 2001 and I do love it. I just clean and brighten my digital photos and love to send by email.
    But when I go into computer, pictures and try to delete, (I only leave 1 yr. on at a time.) the pictures multiply! I have copy no. 27 and can’t get rid of it! Help!

    Reply
  17. Angela says:
    April 11, 2008 at 12:22 am

    Dave,
    My Picture It 99 is low on disk space and shutting down. I looked at the program properties and it say I have no space left. Now, can I unistall it and reinstall to fix the problem or is it the disk itself storing files.
    If I do uninstall will I loss all my files?
    Angela

    Reply
  18. Milski says:
    September 2, 2007 at 1:49 pm

    I cannot get my photos out of the frame when I use the cookie cutter feature. It has a block frame around the picture. How do I get that to go away? Thanks.

    Reply
  19. BMF says:
    March 26, 2007 at 10:22 am

    Richard… I got my start with photo editing with picture it! 99. I used it for years and got very good at getting it to do any photo tricks i needed. A few years ago my install of picture it got corrupted and i couldnt find the cd anywhere so i was forced to find a new program. I tried photoshop for about a year, but was never happy with it. I got paintshop pro after that and got hooked on that. In my opinion the interface is better than photoshop, and is easier to learn how to use (if you’re looking to upgrade this is my pick). Just yesterday I found my long lost picture it cd in the trunk of my car, so i’m going to try to relive the good old days.. Its just so much easier working with text and doing some things with layers in picture it than in photoshop or paintshop pro so i plan on having it installed for that purpose…

    Reply
  20. Richard says:
    March 4, 2007 at 3:01 am

    I have used MS Picture It 99 for many years. I’m an amateur and just like to edit/tidy up my home digital pictures which I often incorporate in my home videos. Picture It 99 is adequate for me. Quick, simple and idiot proof, and it works with XP. I feel I should get up to date but there appears to be a dozen or more new versions and variations. Digital, Pro9, 10, anniversary etc. etc. It’s simple editing I need but not necessarily the organizing & emailing ability.
    Which should I buy?

    Reply
  21. christi says:
    February 15, 2007 at 1:08 am

    While i was reloading “picture it” an error message popped up while loading disc 3. Is there any way i can install without having to purchase the entire program?
    Thank you.
    Christi

    Reply
  22. Christa says:
    November 20, 2006 at 8:35 pm

    Hello! I am glad I found this. My problem is this: I own an HP and recently had a new hardrive put in and video card. Upon its return I tried to open Microsoft Picture It! 9. It was NOT there!!! I did a recovery on my PC twice now and it is not coming up. Is this a program that is in another program or is it a standard software editing program that comes with my HP at time of purchase? I use this program at least 12 times a day, as I have three babies. I VERY much would like any advice or knowledge to be given my way in efforts of getting this program back on my PC. Thank you!!!

    Reply
  23. Anne Whiteman says:
    January 20, 2006 at 12:37 pm

    Hi. I have a problem with my Microsoft Picture It. How can I find a troubleshoot location? It won’t do jpegs, and insists on doing only .mix photos … but it used to do jpeg. I did have to reinstall it on a new computer. Any ideas? Thanks, Anne Whiteman

    Reply

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