Windows 7 default image viewer does not support animated GIFs, & I dislike using tons of plugins/programs to do a simple task.
Previously, had tried something called picture, & also the version 2 of it from this website, but GIFs were painfully slow to load.
Think I have the solution now. Instead of the Picture or Picture2, try PictureIE.
Download PictureIE from http://sites.google....i/Home/programs
If you have trouble finding it, just hold down CTRL + F to open find box, then type: pictureie.zip
You will also need to paste the xp version of mscomctl.ocx into the same directory as this executable for it to work.
Finally, I can have something that looks decent, that views pictures + animated GIFs + seems pretty fast.
Did not think to try that earlier, due to the IE tag on it, but seems to do a good job, so far, & seems to have solved a lot of my headaches in 7.
Did not like the interfaces of things like Irfan, & a lot of other "solutions" tried to go overboard & be everything.
This little program is small, fast, simple, & does its job well!
Hope this helps others as much as it did me, & thanks!