Working with 3rd Party Application and Edge 32-bit and Edge 64-bit

Question

Working with 3rd Party Application and Edge 32-bit and Edge 64-bit

Ed Mielcarek 21

Hello,

I posted a related issue that was mostly resolved here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/1071573/webview2-and-wolters-kluwer-cch-axcess.html
To summarize this issue, we have a 3rd party application that appears to break if 32-bit Edge is installed, as it removes the 64-bit WebView2 application. So we uninstall 32-bit Edge and install
64-bit Edge.

We are now finding that some users are experiencing 64-bit Edge getting removed and 32-bit version of Edge installing automatically, thus plunging these users back into a daily IT ticket to use their 3rd party application.

My questions are:

What could possibly be triggering 32-bit Edge to install?
Are Windows updates doing this?
When we uninstall 32-bit, are there remnants that cause it to reinstall?
Is there another application that could be triggering 32-bit Edge to install?

This has happened to a few users in the last few weeks, but it's currently happening on a laptop we are provisioning for a new user.

Thanks in advance for any insight!
Cheers!

Anonymous

2022-12-13T05:56:55.77+00:00
Hi @Ed Mielcarek ,

I've been working on this issue, and I'd like to know:

Is this issue still related to the x64 folder missing?

Do all the affected devices have 64-bit OS?

On the affected devices, could you see a clear "32-bit" at edge://version/?
Ed Mielcarek 21 Reputation points

2022-12-13T15:02:28.073+00:00
Hello @Anonymous ,

Thank you for your reply.

Is this issue still related to the x64 folder missing?
a. This is a different problem, but one that came about from the x64 folder missing.

Do all the affected devices have 64-bit OS?
a. Yes, all computers are 64-bit OS.

On the affected devices, could you see a clear "32-bit" at edge://version/?
a. Yes, we check edge://version and it shows "32-bit". We've seen this go back and forth between 64-bit and 32-bit though.

Side note, we use a 3rd party Adobe Acrobat extension (PDFlyer) to add additional stamps to Acrobat. This is a 32-bit application and requires 32-bit Adobe Acrobat to work. Could this be the culprit? If so, why is it only affecting about 5-10% of the computers that have this add in?

Cheers!
Anonymous

2022-12-14T09:56:23.497+00:00

Hi @Ed Mielcarek ,

Did you mean that on the affected devices, Edge could turn back into 64-bit after it had turned into 32-bit, and then turned into 32-bit again? That looks pretty strange. AFAIK, third-party application won't affect Edge bitness, but you can still uninstall that 32-bit application you've mentioned to see whether it is the culprit.
One more thing. I'd like to know how you (re)installed Edge 64-bit. Did you simply reinstall the system or something?
Ed Mielcarek 21 Reputation points

2022-12-14T13:59:24.02+00:00
Hello @Anonymous ,

Did you mean that on the affected devices, Edge could turn back into 64-bit after it had turned into 32-bit, and then turned into 32-bit again?

Essentially, yes, but the other way around.
We deploy Windows 10 fresh on a computer.
We check the Edge version (the computer appears to install 32-bit or 64-bit on it's own).
If it's 64-bit, we proceed as normal with 3rd party apps, etc.
If it's 32-bit, we uninstall Edge and explicitly install the 64-bit version and proceed as normal.
Sometime later (days/weeks) we find that Edge 32-bit has been installed.
We then attempt to uninstall Edge 32-bit and install 64-bit.
This sometimes fixes the issue, long-term. Sometimes the problem keeps coming back.

One more thing. I'd like to know how you (re)installed Edge 64-bit. Did you simply reinstall the system or something?

We use this command: `C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\108.0.1462.46\Installer>setup.exe --uninstall --system-level --verbose-logging --force-uninstall`

But we do also uninstall from "Add & Remove Programs" or "Apps & Features" GUI when able. We sometimes find that the option to uninstall Edge is greyed-out or otherwise unavailable.

Cheers!
Ed Mielcarek 21 Reputation points

2022-12-14T14:03:52.06+00:00

Posting this as a reply due to the character limit

We are downloading and installing Edge 64-bit from here:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download?form=MA13FJ
We are downloading and installing WebView2 64-bit from here:
https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/webview2/

Please let me know if I can provide any further information to assist.

Cheers!
Anonymous

2022-12-21T02:28:39.443+00:00

Hi @Ed Mielcarek ,

Sorry for the wait! I've been investigating into this issue. Today, I found my 64-bit Edge was turned into 32-bit surprisingly. I've been trying to find the culprit, and I'll let you know if I have any update on this issue.
Ed Mielcarek 21 Reputation points

2022-12-21T13:08:38.177+00:00

Hello @Anonymous !

Not a problem! I appreciate you looking into this and I'm glad that you were able to duplicate the issue.

I look forward to any information you can provide.

Cheers!
Anonymous

2022-12-28T10:34:40.573+00:00

Hi @Ed Mielcarek ,

I'm back. My issue was caused by a reboot few days ago, and even Chrome and Visual Studio (basically every application) were turned into 32-bit. I've checked that my x64 folder is completely gone. Even though I have investigated into this problem for days, I still have no idea why. I also performed some reboots on other machines, but they all stayed the same. My devices are VMs, by the way. Since you have opened a support ticket before, I suggest returning to the support ticket for more help. Normally remote sessions are involved in resolving this kind of issue, so support tickets may be the best way to handle it. Thanks for your understanding.
Ed Mielcarek 21 Reputation points

2023-01-03T21:01:57.367+00:00

Hello Again @Anonymous !

I appreciate your effort here, and thanks for the update. We have absolutely no idea what could cause this.

We will get another case going with Microsoft support as you suggest, but we are not hopeful that it will be resolved that way.

If anyone happens to figure out what the issue is or have any ideas on how to track down what the issue could be, I welcome everyone's reply.

Thank you again for looking into this.

Cheers!

Your answer

Anonymous

2022-12-13T05:56:55.77+00:00

Hi @Ed Mielcarek ,

I've been working on this issue, and I'd like to know:

Is this issue still related to the x64 folder missing?

Do all the affected devices have 64-bit OS?

On the affected devices, could you see a clear "32-bit" at edge://version/?
Ed Mielcarek 21 Reputation points

2022-12-13T15:02:28.073+00:00

Hello @Anonymous ,

Thank you for your reply.

Is this issue still related to the x64 folder missing?
a. This is a different problem, but one that came about from the x64 folder missing.

Do all the affected devices have 64-bit OS?
a. Yes, all computers are 64-bit OS.

On the affected devices, could you see a clear "32-bit" at edge://version/?
a. Yes, we check edge://version and it shows "32-bit". We've seen this go back and forth between 64-bit and 32-bit though.

Side note, we use a 3rd party Adobe Acrobat extension (PDFlyer) to add additional stamps to Acrobat. This is a 32-bit application and requires 32-bit Adobe Acrobat to work. Could this be the culprit? If so, why is it only affecting about 5-10% of the computers that have this add in?

Cheers!
Anonymous

2022-12-14T09:56:23.497+00:00

Hi @Ed Mielcarek ,

Did you mean that on the affected devices, Edge could turn back into 64-bit after it had turned into 32-bit, and then turned into 32-bit again? That looks pretty strange. AFAIK, third-party application won't affect Edge bitness, but you can still uninstall that 32-bit application you've mentioned to see whether it is the culprit.
One more thing. I'd like to know how you (re)installed Edge 64-bit. Did you simply reinstall the system or something?
Ed Mielcarek 21 Reputation points

2022-12-14T13:59:24.02+00:00

Hello @Anonymous ,

Did you mean that on the affected devices, Edge could turn back into 64-bit after it had turned into 32-bit, and then turned into 32-bit again?

Essentially, yes, but the other way around.
We deploy Windows 10 fresh on a computer.
We check the Edge version (the computer appears to install 32-bit or 64-bit on it's own).
If it's 64-bit, we proceed as normal with 3rd party apps, etc.
If it's 32-bit, we uninstall Edge and explicitly install the 64-bit version and proceed as normal.
Sometime later (days/weeks) we find that Edge 32-bit has been installed.
We then attempt to uninstall Edge 32-bit and install 64-bit.
This sometimes fixes the issue, long-term. Sometimes the problem keeps coming back.

One more thing. I'd like to know how you (re)installed Edge 64-bit. Did you simply reinstall the system or something?

We use this command: `C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\108.0.1462.46\Installer>setup.exe --uninstall --system-level --verbose-logging --force-uninstall`

But we do also uninstall from "Add & Remove Programs" or "Apps & Features" GUI when able. We sometimes find that the option to uninstall Edge is greyed-out or otherwise unavailable.

Cheers!
Ed Mielcarek 21 Reputation points

2022-12-14T14:03:52.06+00:00

Posting this as a reply due to the character limit

We are downloading and installing Edge 64-bit from here:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/business/download?form=MA13FJ
We are downloading and installing WebView2 64-bit from here:
https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/webview2/

Please let me know if I can provide any further information to assist.

Cheers!
Anonymous

2022-12-21T02:28:39.443+00:00

Hi @Ed Mielcarek ,

Sorry for the wait! I've been investigating into this issue. Today, I found my 64-bit Edge was turned into 32-bit surprisingly. I've been trying to find the culprit, and I'll let you know if I have any update on this issue.
Ed Mielcarek 21 Reputation points

2022-12-21T13:08:38.177+00:00

Hello @Anonymous !

Not a problem! I appreciate you looking into this and I'm glad that you were able to duplicate the issue.

I look forward to any information you can provide.

Cheers!
Anonymous

2022-12-28T10:34:40.573+00:00

Hi @Ed Mielcarek ,

I'm back. My issue was caused by a reboot few days ago, and even Chrome and Visual Studio (basically every application) were turned into 32-bit. I've checked that my x64 folder is completely gone. Even though I have investigated into this problem for days, I still have no idea why. I also performed some reboots on other machines, but they all stayed the same. My devices are VMs, by the way. Since you have opened a support ticket before, I suggest returning to the support ticket for more help. Normally remote sessions are involved in resolving this kind of issue, so support tickets may be the best way to handle it. Thanks for your understanding.
Ed Mielcarek 21 Reputation points

2023-01-03T21:01:57.367+00:00

Hello Again @Anonymous !

I appreciate your effort here, and thanks for the update. We have absolutely no idea what could cause this.

We will get another case going with Microsoft support as you suggest, but we are not hopeful that it will be resolved that way.

If anyone happens to figure out what the issue is or have any ideas on how to track down what the issue could be, I welcome everyone's reply.

Thank you again for looking into this.

Cheers!

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Working with 3rd Party Application and Edge 32-bit and Edge 64-bit

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