Fix: Microsoft Edge doesn't work anymore or crashes

[German]Some Windows 10 users are facing real issues with Microsoft Edge. The browser suddenly doesn't want to start, doesn't work properly or crashes. Here are some possible solutions to solve the problem through various approaches, including registry changes.

Microsoft Edge is causing problems

Microsoft Edge ist used (according to this article), on 300 Million devices monthly. But this browser seems a nasty beast. Browsing forums I recognize Windows 10 users reporting issues with Microsoft Edge. Some times Edge won't launch after an update. Or the browser crashes. This Technet forum thread discusses a crash after an upgrade to Windows 10 Creators Update. Here is a MS Anwers forum entry dated September 15, 2017, mention a sudden crash during normal operating.

A tip from a blog reader

Blog reader Dietmar H. contacted me a few days ago about an Edge issue (seem to be fixed with an update, see Windows 10 V1703: Update KB4040724 (09/25/17)). He wrote:

Today we spent an entire afternoon troubleshooting Edge not working (browser windows was gray and empty). All the "usual" fixes did not help. Then I found the following key HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Spartan REG_DWORD RAC_LaunchFlags 1. Afterwards the Edge worked again immediately. Do you know what the key mean?

Fix #1: Set RAC_LaunchFlags

Edge browser has a registry entry that is managed for each user account in the HKey_Current_User branch (the same entry may exist for the entire system under HKLM). Here are the steps to set the registry entry.

1. Open the registry editor regedit.exe (can be done from standard user accounts, just type regedit.exe in the search box of the taskbar and press Enter).

2. Navigate in the left-hand column of the registry editor to the key: HKey_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Spartan

Since the subkey Spartan probably does not exist, you must create it again. Otherwise, skip the unnecessary steps.

3. Right-click the Internet Explorer subkey and choose New/Key from the context menu.

4. Then enter the key name Spartan and press Enter.

5.  Once the new key name has been created, select it in the left-hand column of the registry editor.

6. In the right-hand column of the Registry Editor, right-click an empty area and choose New/DWORD value (32-bit) from the context menu.

7. Enter the name RAC_LaunchFlags and press Enter.

8. Select the DWORD 32-bit value RAC_LaunchFlags by double-clicking it and set the value to 1 .

Then close the dialog box using the OK button. The registry entry shown here should be visible.

Then the Microsoft Edge browser should start. The browser should work again. If that does not help, there is another problem. You can also try the approach described in this forum post and enter the following command in the Command Prompt window.

reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Spartan" /v
RAC_LaunchFlags /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

Important: This is a single command line and may be entered at a command prompt window.

The blog reader asked what the key RAC_LaunchFlags means. I don't know more details – but the abbreviation RAC or RACAgent stands for reliability monitoring in Windows (see).

The value RAC_LaunchFlags =1 is also mentioned in this current Microsoft Answers forum post as a measure for edge problems.

Fix #2: Delete and reinstall Edge

Blog reader Leon has given me an approach for experienced users. Here are the steps to delete Edge.

1. Start Windows 10 in Safe mode and opens in Explorer the following folder:
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Packages

2. Search the packet MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe, right click it and select Properties.

3. Goto global tab and uncheck the Read-only attribute.

After these steps it should be possible to delete the package with Microsoft Edge (MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe). In a further step, Edge must now be reinstalled.

1. Open an administrative PowerShell window (enter PowerShell in taskbar's search bar and use context menu command Run as administrator).

2. Enter the following PowerShell command.

Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml" -Verbose}

If everything works, Edge will now be reinstalled. After that you can restart Windows 10 in normal mode.

Fix #3: Reset Edge

One action that can help with problems with Edge is to delete the profile folder for each user and the global data folder. The Microsoft Edge profile folder can be found at:

C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe

The global data folder is located at:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe

Rename Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe in Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe.old (requires adminstrative rights).

Then open PowerShell and enter the following command:

Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register „$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml" -Verbose}

This reinstalls Edge (see this forum entry and here). And here is a description how to reset Edge.

Other sources of trouble

A good summary of possible actions has been given by a user in this forum thread. In this Technet forum post a user mentions conflicting Software Restriction Policies from a previous build. Another source for trouble are third party antivirus software packages. Here McAfee Endpoint Security Suite is mentioned. Another user mentioned, deleting Favorites helped. The favorite folders are documented here. Also using the hints given within my blog post Check and repair Windows system files and component store may help.