How to Fix Microsoft Edge Not Opening on Windows 10

There are several reasons that can prevent Microsoft Edge from opening in Windows 10. Bugs and glitches, outdated browser cache, corrupted Edge installation, etc. are just a few. Let’s see what you can do to fix Microsoft Edge won’t open in Windows 10.

Warning: If you haven’t synced your browsing data – such as passwords and autofill data – with a Microsoft account yet, some of the fixes below may erase them permanently.

Complete the Microsoft Edge process

Sometimes Microsoft Edge may just hang on launch and fail to load its graphical user interface (GUI). Since the browser is already active in the background, repeated attempts to open it will fail. However, manually terminating Edge related processes using Task Manager can help.

Step 1: Right click on the taskbar and select Task Manager.

2nd step: Click More Details.

Step 3: On the Processes tab, select Microsoft Edge in the Applications section and click End Task. Repeat for all of the Edge related processes you see in the Background Processes section.

Step 4: Exit the task manager.

Step 5: Launch Microsoft Edge.

Restart the computer

Despite completing all Microsoft Edge related processes, the browser may continue to hang indefinitely, unless you restart your computer. So restart your computer. Once you are back in the desktop, try to reopen Microsoft Edge.

Empty the cache

An outdated Microsoft Edge browser cache can cause all kinds of issues. Deleting this data can help. Since you cannot open Microsoft Edge to clear the cache, use the following File Explorer-based workaround instead.

Step 1: Press Windows + R to open the Run box.

2nd step: Copy and paste the following path and click OK:

appdata/Local/Microsoft/Edge/User Data/Default/Cache

Step 3: Press Ctrl + A to select all files and folders in the folder.

Step 4: Right click on any selected file or folder and select Delete to get rid of Microsoft Edge cache.

Step 5: Try to open Microsoft Edge.

Delete the default user profile

Another reason that can prevent Microsoft Edge from opening on your computer is a corrupted user profile. Try to delete the data. If you are using a Microsoft account, you must then log back into the browser.

Warning: You will permanently lose all unsynchronized browsing data in Microsoft Edge.

Step 1: Press Windows + R to open the Run box.

2nd step: Copy and paste the following path and click OK:

appdata/Local/Microsoft/Edge/User Data

Step 3: Right click on the folder titled Default

Step 4: Select Remove.

Step 5: Try to launch Microsoft Edge.

Update Windows

Although it’s built into Windows 10 itself, Microsoft Edge doesn’t rely on Windows Update to stay up to date. However, you need to update the version of Windows 10 periodically. This provides the browser with a platform free from problems when running. To update Windows 10, follow these steps.

Step 1: Open the Start menu, select Settings, and then select Update & Security.

2nd step: Click Check for Updates.

Step 3: Click Download and Install to apply the latest Windows 10 updates.

Run the System File Checker

If you are still having problems opening Microsoft Edge, try running System File Checker to find and repair instances of corrupted system files on your computer.

Step 1: Open the Start menu, type in command prompt, and select Run as administrator.

2nd step: Type the following command in the elevated Command Prompt console and press Enter:

sfc /scannow

Step 3: Exit the Command Prompt console after the SFC scan is complete.

Step 4: Restart your computer.

Step 5: Try to reopen Microsoft Edge.

Reinstall Microsoft Edge

You can try reinstalling Microsoft Edge as a last resort to resolve issues that prevent it from opening in Windows 10. Because the browser is built into the operating system, you must use a Windows PowerShell command to remove it from your computer. You can then download it again and install it normally using the EdgeHTML version of Edge.

Step 1: Open File Explorer and head to the following location:

Local Disk (C:) > Program Files (x86) > Microsoft > Edge > Application > [version number] > Installer.

Note: the [version number] The tab in the file path above shows the current version of Microsoft Edge – for example 87.0.664.60.

2nd step: Open the File menu in File Explorer, point to Open Windows PowerShell, and select Open Windows PowerShell as administrator.

Step 3: Copy and paste the following command and select Enter:

.setup.exe -uninstall -system-level -verbose-logging -force-uninstall

Step 4: Wait a few minutes and exit Windows PowerShell. Then restart your computer.

Step 5: Open the Start menu, type Microsoft Edge and select Open to load the EdgeHTML version of Microsoft Edge.

Step 6: Copy and paste the following URL into the address bar of the browser and press Enter:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge

Step 7: Select the Download for Windows 10 button to download and reinstall the Chromium version of Microsoft Edge.

Back on the edge

Hope the above fixes have helped you and you are back to using Microsoft Edge. If you know of any other fixes that can help fix the issue when Microsoft Edge won’t open on Windows 10, please share them in the comments.