No, I understand what you are trying to do. Because you can't even see a dropdown menu when you right click the photo but get the 'busy' blue wheel, I don't think there is going to be a quick fix as this could be caused by several issues. Have you tried booting your PC in Safe Mode? Does the problem persist or can you now view your photos?
(Safe Mode - Follow these steps:
a) Press the ‘Windows + C’ key on the keyboard.
b) Click on settings, change pc settings and then general.
c) Scroll down to advanced startup, click restart now.
d) Click on troubleshoot, advanced options, Startup Settings.
e) Click restart, select safe mode and then press enter.
Note: Restart the computer to start in normal mode.)
If you can open your photos for viewing in Safe Mode, the next step would be to carry out a Clean Boot of your PC.
support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows
However, given what you have said already, I'm not sure how comfortable you are with troubleshooting your PC. You may need to find someone who understands Windows 7 to look at it.
The other thing you could try would be to import a single photo (one that doesn't matter if you lose it) into Windows Live Photo Gallery and just play with it. See if it works and what it can do. I know you don't want to take extra steps to open photos but it may be easier in the long run. All later upgrades support it. I'm sorry, I had hoped to be able to help but think it may be too difficult at a distance.
Good Morning Good Friday 29th March 2024