Remove Properties function fails on removing location info on photos from Windows Phone

Question

On photos taken with smartphones running Windows Phone 7.5, the "remove properties and personal information" feature fails on removing GPS coordinates from the pictures.

After importing the picture to my computer, I right-click the picture in Windows Explorer and go in Properties>Details tab.

I click "remove personal information"

I get an error saying it was unable to remove the property. It fails on all three GPS properties: Latitude, Longitude and Altitude.

Any idea why?

Answer 1

It seems the problem is finally fixed in Windows 8.1.

nice to see small bugs like this getting fixed. Shame it took so long.

Answer 2

It's not fixed, they rewrote something which doesn't exhibit the issue. Fixing would involve finding out what the problem is and patching it for all OSs that share that library.

  Still here end of 2014, an issues that started 5 years ago. Explorer's handling of EXIF info has 2 bugs, both related to header size (Arihmetic overload and Unknown error) both happen on JPEGs that have been tagged with a lot of info - that's why it happens on WP pics - those have complete EXIF info.

  After years of frustration, I wrote my own tagger and attacked the images that were shot to pieces and, to my surprise, my program just worked on all samples, I was sure there was some error writing them, as I didn't think such a simple error would be here for 5 years - immutable properties for JPEG files.

  You can't rotate them, or edit properties, but there are 2 workarounds, in case anyone is listening:

  a) You can right-click edit the image with Paint and then hit Ctrl+s. That makes paint write a valid JPEG according to Explorer. I am fairly sure, however, that paint re-saves the image data, thus re-encoding it. To be fair, Paint does a swell job, I never remarked the drop in quality.

  b) You can tell Windows to kill ALL EXIF data not by removing tags, but by making a new file with no data in it (there's a radio group when you select properties). That usually works, as Windows glues the image data to a bare EXIF. You will lose all other data.

  Sort of a workaround, however, is to get a 3rd party editor. The images are likely fine, it's Explorer that has issues with JPEG (seriously, people, an OS having issues with the most widely used image format is kinda weird to even type). Use an open tool, so it's clean and free. EXIFTOOL is a command line tool you can use to strip an entire folder (more with FOR /R) or get a GUI version (FastPhotoTagger, e.g.). Go to SourceForge and get one, no shady sites.

  The issue is related to PhotoMetadataHandler.dll, that raises an assert() (oh, Microsoft, come on) likely related to EXIF being over 64K in size (oh dear, 16 bit left in?). The libraries are still shipped, AFAICT, with Visual C++ and redist, further compounding the problem.

Answer 3

  It's not fixed, they rewrote something which doesn't exhibit the issue. Fixing would involve finding out what the problem is and patching it for all OSs that share that library.

I appreciate the effort into this post, but it "fixed" is indeed the correct term. It's not like Microsoft completely rewrote JPEG handling for Windows 8.1, they fixed a bug for it. It has no obligation to make it available to older version of Windows. Windows 7 is in extended support, which means security fixes only.

Answer 4

o.O ?

  Mainstream support until January 13, 2015. (It appears to be in the future)

  Extended support until January 14, 2020 (Which means they still do HOTFIXES, just that they only take requests based on extended support blah blah, and only provide security fixes for free to all - basically a feature freeze)

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/lifecycle

  So, basically, it's still being supported, I can still make a fuss about it. And even if it enters extended support, they should still provide the fixes they do on request, can't remember if they do, I think XP got hotfixes until the last minute, it just meant they halted forward development and only kept fixing what was already broken at end of support. I am fairly sure Windows Explorer is on the list of supported software.

  I don't expect them to make a new feature (though I could, it's still supported), I expect them to fix an obvious bug. I can make Explorer assert at will, that has got to be a bug any way you cut it.

  And "fixed"?

  What ARE you on about? If my car explodes when started, is it fixed because the new model doesn't? Fixed software works. Don't argue semantics, if it's broken you don't get to mark it as fixed. I've been doing development over 20 years, I don't remember ever being able to mark a bug as fixed if ANOTHER PRODUCT worked. And if I have to pay for it, it's a new product. Is it fixed if tagging works in Microsoft Word? No. This isn't about SP2, it's about W8, which is a caricature.

  Also, I am fairly sure they didn't fix it; the enhancements to W8 explorer probably required them to rebuild the extension and that used the new libraries which didn't use 16 bit buffers. If they did, however, and decided that W7 users should not be bothered with these pesky "fixes" then that is just a new low.

  My guess is it never entered their radar. Without a bug system, they don't get a feel of urgency on bugs, they probably just assumed the people who use tags also use unaffected software, like Media Center and image browser live thing, whatever it's called.

  --------------------

  Anyway, at this point I'm just venting, because this zero feedback thing they have going on is really annoying. It's nice that they don't do requests, other OSs do that and they fix language packs for years because people vote en-masse, but it's also annoying because legitimate bugs have no way of getting though, and it's been 5 years since W7 decided that network password saving was not a priority, that if a network drive fails and you click "diagnose" it closes the windows so the UNC path is lost (works if it's mapped), still refuses to be helpful when mapping a drive on an unsupported system (if you try a net use on W2K and NT4, it silently fails, even though it KNOWS that the remote system requests older encryption standard - it even has a setting for it, I just have to spend a day on Google).

  The MOST annoying thing is not that they have these bugs - no - the annoying thing is that W7 is virtually bug free, extremely stable, has excellent support and, at this point it is the best thing to ever exit the gates of Gates, hence the absolute and utter domination of the market; it is a work of highly polished art and it just hold on to a few scuffs that were there from when it was transported the first time - MS just keeps polishing around the scuffs, like it's a beauty mark.

  Windows randomly keeps files open in "system" if view mode is set to "details". It is annoying as a crazy weasel. Because "system" does it, you can't forcefully unlock it - but you can set view mode to tiles and it goes away - how hard would that be to fix? Or putting desktop.ini everywhere. Make an exception list, and put DVD CACHE ON IT. Every CD I put in a desktop.ini is created on it, so I constantly have a "files waiting to be written" notification which you can't kill if you have a removable drive. And desktop, put desktop on it, I hate it when it drops them in my view.

  I feel better now. Hey, look at the bright side, I eat mostly because of these bugs, putting batches in startup to bypass Windows bugs is a common occurrence for me - deleting stray desktop.ini and thumbs.db, using NET USE to bypass network passwords not being saved, using RASDIAL because Windows can't be bothered to dial soon enough so startup programs don't have internet, you know, basics. I'm also going to eat well for a long time, everyone who didn't listen and bought W8 now need help with stuff they already learned, which is great.

  You know, silver lining. Economy is going to hell and I'm getting a bigger turbo.

Answer 5

Huh, I thought it was already in extended support. My bad.

Also, discussion penalty: Terrible car analogy.

I don't get a desktop.ini waiting to be written to disk, I don't have issues with views, and I don't have batch files running at startup to "fix" things. I suspect you've done things to your computer in an effort to "tweak" Windows and that just breaks stuff.