My remote control is not working.

If the black outer frame is on the digital photo frame, remove the outer frame to see if the remote works. The sensor for the remote is on the bottom right corner on the front of the frame. If you do not see this sensor on the bottom right, then the sensor is blocked. If the sensor cut out on the black frame is on the top left, then it was put on upside down. Take it off and turn it 180 degrees and put it back on.

My computer will not launch the Image Viewer.exe file, do I have to use it to transfer photos to the frame?

You do not have to use the Image Viewer.exe. This is only a small program that allows you to add photos one at a time. It does offer a resize option though. Otherwise you can access the internal memory under My Computer by sending the photos to the appropriate drive.