Microsoft Camera Codec on Windows 10

I just installed Microsoft Windows 10 Technical Preview and have been going through and setting up some of my software for testing.  I noticed that Windows isn’t generating previews for my Canon DSLR RAW files (.CR2).  After a quick search, Microsoft Camera Codec pack is needed to generate previews for RAW file types.  I downloaded the Codec pack but it errored on the initial install stating my current operating system was not supported.

To work around this, I downloaded Windows Installer 4.5 redistributable which contains Orca.  Orca allows modification of Microsoft Installation files (.MSI).

I modified the following value indicating a check for OS level needing to be less than 9200 and changed it to an arbitrary 9900.

After saving the changes, I closed Orca and ran the Codec Installer again. This time it ran through installation successfully and a reboot was required. Now I can view thumbnail previews of my .CR2 files.
Hope this helps anyone testing Windows 10 Technical Preview and needing to preview RAW images.

3 thoughts on “Microsoft Camera Codec on Windows 10

  1. Ron Lashley

    I found a easier way to get ORCA. Go to https://www.itsupportguides.com/tech-tips-tricks/download-orca-msi-editor/ and download. Extract files and then double click on the Orca.msi to install. Then go to the MicrosoftCameraCodecPack-x64.msi file you downloaded ( or the x86 32 bit version) and right click on it then choose edit with Orca. make the changes above and then File > Save. close Orca and run the camera codec again. It will install on Windows 10.
    If you want to use an already modified version of MicrosoftCameraCodecPack-x64.msi then I have it available here: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B7lZEfb8TxPwNDBpOVVidnBJMUE&usp=sharing This is for Windows 64 bit OS only and works on Windows 10. Ignore the SSD install instructions.

    Reply
    1. Rich Kreider Post author

      BTW, I don’t remember which Build of 10, but RAW support is there and I haven’t had to do this since shortly after I had posted.

      Reply
      1. Ron Lashley

        I use Windows 10 fully up to date and there is no RAW support in File Explorer for my Sony .ARW pictures. So I suspect it won’t work for others either. That is why I had to do this install.

        Reply

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