Cannot access edge, no icons work

Question

Had to reinstall windows 11 because original version was not updating. That now works but edge browser will not open.

Answer 1

If Microsoft Edge is not opening after reinstalling Windows 11, you can try the following troubleshooting steps:

1. Check if Edge is installed correctly: Ensure that Microsoft Edge is installed at the system level. You can do this by typing edge://version in the address bar of another browser. If the executable path starts with C:\Users, it indicates a user-level installation. In that case, you may need to uninstall and reinstall Edge with administrator privileges.
2. Run Windows Updates: Make sure that all required Windows Updates are installed, as missing updates can cause Edge to malfunction.
3. Reset Edge settings: If Edge is installed but not functioning, you can reset its settings. Go to edge://settings/reset to reset Edge to its default settings.
4. Check for conflicting software: Sometimes, third-party software can interfere with Edge. Try disabling any recently installed applications or extensions that might be causing the issue.
5. Reinstall Edge: If none of the above steps work, consider reinstalling Microsoft Edge. You can download the latest version from the official Microsoft website.

If you continue to experience issues, you may want to check for any error messages or logs that could provide more insight into the problem.

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References:

• Windows 11 overview
• How to roll back Microsoft Edge to a previous version

Answer 2

Sorry to hear you’re running into this. When you try to launch Microsoft Edge, what exactly happens, does it open and immediately close, does it stay stuck on a blank window, or do you get a specific error message? If you can, please share the exact message.

You can also try repairing Edge: Start > Settings > Apps > Installed apps > Microsoft Edge > Modify > Repair.

If Edge won’t repair or it seems missing/corrupted, please try downloading and reinstalling it from the official Microsoft page and run the installer: https://www.microsoft.com/edge/download.