I can't find and save my photos anymore!

Question

I can easily download my photos from my camera to my laptop but then everything goes nuts! First, I get an entire "Gallery" that I have never used and don't want. Next, I select the photos that I want to download and set up a folder for them in the Pictures tab. From then on, I'm not able to save anything in that new folder and yet chasing around my laptop I see that the photos are indeed somewhere. What is going on? Why can't I file my pictures anymore?

Answer 1

Welcome lovefelines catslover,

I understand how frustrating it can be after importing photos from your camera, a new Gallery appears, you can see the photos on the device, but you are unable to properly save or manage them in the folder you created under Pictures. 

To help identify the fastest resolution, please confirm the following  

• Which Windows version you are using (Windows 10 or Windows 11)? 
• Are you importing the photos using the Windows Photos app, or another app that opens automatically when the camera is connected? 

In the meantime, you can try the workaround steps below to troubleshoot the issue:  

Option 1: Open the Photos app > Settings, and check the Import section 

• Verify the import destination folder 
• Turn off any option that automatically groups photos by date or app-created folders 

Option 2: Check folder permissions for the new Pictures subfolder 

• Open File Explorer 
• Right-click the folder you created under Pictures and select Properties 
• Open the Security tab and confirm your user account has Full control 

Option 3: Check whether OneDrive is managing the Pictures folder 

• Open OneDrive settings  
• Open the Sync and backup section 
• Verify whether Pictures is set to back up and temporarily turn it off to test 

Option 4: Try saving a photo manually 

• Open one imported photo 
• Use Save as and select a different local folder such as Documents to test write access 

Option 5: Disconnect the camera and restart the PC 

• Reconnect the camera and test importing a small number of photos again 

I really hope that the information I gave above was helpful to you. Please feel free to reply below and let me know if you have further concern on this matter.    

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