MS Edge won't open

Question

About a week or so ago, I went to open the Edge browser from both the Start Menu and the Taskbar shortcuts, but nothing happened. From searching I found that if I navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\ and open the latest version folder, the msedge.exe works and afterwards, my Start Menu and the Taskbar shortcuts work. However there was another update since then and the same thing happened. Upon inspection, I see a newer version folder. Again, when I opened the msedge.exe file from within that folder, my Start Menu and the Taskbar shortcuts work again. I should not have to do this each time there is a new Windows update. I've already tried the standard suggestions of Scanning for Malware, Scanning for viruses, and Repairing Edge via Windows Settings. What is the real cause and how do I fix it?

Answer 1

Hello. Every time Edge updates, a new version folder appears under:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\<new-version>\

The actual executable you need is msedge.exe in that root Application folder (the stub launcher), not the one inside the versioned subfolder.

So you can try doing this and see if the issue persists, navigate to this folder (which, like I mentioned before, is the root app folder):

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application

Right-click the msedge.exe application → Pin to Start and/or Pin to Taskbar (or create a fresh desktop shortcut).

The idea is that if behaving correctly, these new shortcuts will always invoke the stub that auto-launches the correct latest version.

Answer 2

This could be caused by corrupt files.
I would first try getting a fresh install of Microsoft Edge. If this persists and you really need to access a browser, I would download a different browser for the time until you get the Microsoft Edge problems resolved. Again, just try a fresh install. It could also depend on your Windows version. Maybe try updating Windows?