Microsoft has warned Vista users that the operating system fails to manage photo metadata correctly. While the Redmond Company has worked to streamline the process of adding comments and information to photographs, the results are less than successful. In fact, Windows Vista and the Microsoft Photo Info tool can destroy the metadata and even create problems with the image.

"When you edit the properties of a photo to add metadata to that photo in Windows Vista, the software for the digital camera may no longer recognize the metadata that is automatically added to the photo by the digital camera. This metadata is specific to the manufacturer of the camera," informs Microsoft.

Currently, Microsoft has not released a definitive solution to this issue. However, the Redmond Company did reveal a temporary workaround. According to Microsoft, Vista users should steer clear of the Photo Acquisition Wizard. Users that want to keep the metadata added by the digital camera's software should not download their images onto the hard disc via the Photo Acquisition Wizard.

Additionally, Windows Vista users are advised against editing the properties of the images stored locally on their hard drives via Windows Photo Gallery or Windows Explorer.

"This issue occurs when makernote data in the Exchangeable Image File format (EXIF) metadata area of the image is moved to a different location within the metadata region of the image. This change in the location of the makernote data may make the information unreadable," Microsoft explained.