Fixing various preview / image correction issues on Windows

Our products rely on several Microsoft components that are installed by default on the vast majority of systems, but might be out of date or missing – especially on older systems.  If these are missing, then various issues can result, including:

• Preview image and / or thumbnails not appearing
• Problems saving images from PNG files
• Applications don’t run at all
• On QuickServer: all image files are ‘skipped’ and no actual processing takes place

This FAQ lists the best ways to fix these various issues on Windows systems.

1. For all Windows systems
   1. Run Windows Update and install all pending updates, including recommended / optional updates.
   2. Install the MS Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable Update 3 RC
2. For Windows 7 SP1 or Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
   1. Install the  Platform Update from Microsoft 
   2. Install the MS Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable Update 3 RC (after installing platform update)