Hello and welcome to the forum.
Please check to see which program is selected to open .gif files by default.
Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Default Programs
Select the link that says "Associate a file type or protocol with a program" give it a moment to populate
Scroll as needed to .gif
It's possible that the default program has been, in some way, impacted by a recent update.
I believe the Windows "Photos" app would be the normal "default"