If Windows will not let the Picture Keeper app install or open, and instead shows a message saying that your PC only runs apps from the Microsoft Store, your computer is running in S Mode.
S Mode is a Windows security setting that limits the computer to apps installed from the Microsoft Store. The copy of the app that comes on the drive itself does not come from the Store, so Windows blocks it before it can run. This is not a fault with your drive, and nothing on the drive is affected.
DOES THIS MATCH WHAT YOU ARE SEEING?
Any of the following point to S Mode:
- A message saying that, for security, your PC only runs apps from the Microsoft Store.
- Windows offers to look for a similar app in the Microsoft Store instead of running the app you opened.
- The app on the drive will not start at all, or closes again immediately with no window.
There are two ways forward. The first is quicker and does not change anything on your PC.
OPTION 1: INSTALL THE MICROSOFT STORE VERSION
The Picture Keeper app is available free in the Microsoft Store, and Store apps are allowed in S Mode — so nothing has to change on your PC. This is the quickest option.
Follow the steps in Install and Open the App to install it and open it for the first time.
If you have already backed up to your drive, those files stay exactly where they are. The Store version reads the same drive and picks up from your existing backups — there is no need to start over, and nothing is deleted.
OPTION 2: SWITCH YOUR PC OUT OF S MODE
Windows also includes a free option to leave S Mode. Once your PC is out of S Mode it can run apps from outside the Microsoft Store, including the copy of the app that came on your drive.
This switch is made in Windows itself rather than in the Picture Keeper app, and it is one-way: a PC that has left S Mode cannot be put back into it. For the current steps, follow Microsoft's own instructions: Switching out of S mode in Windows.
After your PC has left S Mode, install and open the Picture Keeper app in the usual way, then plug in your drive and continue as normal.
If the app still will not open after trying one of the options above, contact us and let us know which option you tried and the exact message you see, and we will help you from there.