16 Plus DB16250, missing component in Windows Home

Please see this:

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/desktop/get-started/technical-requirements-installation/download-and-install-heic-or-hevc-codecs.html

or this

https://www.laptopmag.com/laptops/windows-laptops/how-to-open-heic-files-in-windows-11

I think this is the free Microsoft thing you need:

https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9pmmsr1cgpwg?hl=en-US&gl=US

And unless you have a specific need for these, you can optionally switch your iPhone to save in "older but more compatible format" which should be jpg .

Thanks Tesla1856.  Those articles are spot on.  I used my Canon EOS (R5) on my vacation and was shooting in CRAW mode images.  I edited the pix with the Canon tool (DPP4) and produced clean HIF files.  The problem was that I could convert the HIF files to JPGs but doing so striped out the Exif header which contained all the metadata.  I should have been able to load the HEIF Image Extension (I did shell out $ for the HEVC video decoder and installed it).  The reason I couldn't load the HEIF Image Extension was (according to MS) Dell didn't include the 'Windows Media Foundation' with Windows Home.  MS insisted that WMF is part of Windows Home so the only explaination is that Dell mis-configured the OEM OS used on my new laptop.  And I bet that's true for any recent laptop they ship.

@AndyinAnnapolis 

Are you saying that you went into Control Panel --> Windows Features --> Turn Windows features on or off. Then checked the list and did not see Media Features?

Chris - When trying to access the Exif extension in HEIF files (ExifTool), power scripts fail because the Windows Imaging Component is missing.  According to Microsoft this is part of the Windows Media Foundation of Windows Home but is missing in my new Dell laptop.  I submitted a detailed incident report (with evidence provided by Microsoft) on this issue but no one Dell has responded.

@AndyinAnnapolis​ Please reply to my specific question above.

Sorry Chris, I did't mean to ignore your question.  Yes I see the same display but according to MS and as stated in the incident report the windows Media Componet(WIC) is part of Windows Media Foundation and is missing.  Digging through the debugging session I had with MS, I executed the following command: 

PS C:\windows\system32> Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online | findstr /I "Foundation"
FeatureName : Windows-Identity-Foundation
FeatureName : Printing-Foundation-Features
FeatureName : Printing-Foundation-InternetPrinting-Client
FeatureName : Printing-Foundation-LPDPrintService
FeatureName : Printing-Foundation-LPRPortMonitor
PS C:\windows\system32>

and MS used this to determine that WIC cannot decode HEIF b/c the system was loaded with an OEM image and they had me issue the following ps1 commands (elevated) - both returned Error: 87

DISM /Online /Add-Capability /CapabilityName:Media.MediaFeaturePack~~~~0.0.1.0

DISM /Online /Add-Capability /CapabilityName:Media.WindowsMediaFoundation~~~~0.0.1.0

Chris - I'd appreciate any suggestions you have and while painful I've figured out a work aroung. 

BTW Have you read the incident report I submitted?

@AndyinAnnapolis​ 

"I submitted a detailed incident report (with evidence provided by Microsoft) on this issue but no one Dell has responded."

To which team at Dell? The GHN (Get Help Now) chat support team?

I called the 800 number and emplored the tech to submit the report to the right team:  from Ritu K

<To protect you, your private information was removed from public view. All private data was saved to your private Case. DELL-Admin>

If you have a work-around, fine.

If not, I suggest ...

1. Anytime-Upgrade your (Embedded in BIOS) Windows key to Professional for a few dollars. There is really no reason to suffer Home vs Pro Feature limitations (now or next-time).

2. Clean-Install Microsoft Windows-11 Pro (64 bit) Non-OEM from Microsoft.com (using Media Creation Tool). It will use that embedded key to Activate as legit.

Good suggestion Tesla1856 - Thanks.   The anytime upgrade path sounds interesting.  If you've been down this route before, is there an advantage to using the Dell upgrade vs an upgrade from the MS Store? (The upgrade from Dell is $$$ vs $$.)

I've never done personally it because I always get Windows 7/8/8.1/10/11 Pro version on my computers.

But I did it for a client once who wanted to use their own computer at work. You do it from Windows itself.

I found this with Google-AI and this sounds accurate and as I remember from years-ago:

AI Overview

Yes, you can upgrade an OEM key anytime, though there are a few important details to know about how the process works. 

Because Dell OEM keys are permanently embedded into the computer's motherboard, upgrading works a bit differently depending on whether you are doing an Edition Upgrade or a Hardware Replacement:
Upgrading to Windows 11 Pro: If your Dell has Windows 11 Home, you can upgrade to Windows 11 Pro at any time. Doing this through the Microsoft Store will grant you a digital Retail license for the Pro version. If you have already bought a separate Pro key, you can just type it into your Activation settings.