Microsoft Edge Keeps Crashing on Windows? 7 Fixes That Work (2026)

Microsoft Edge crashing — closing tabs on its own, freezing, or shutting down the second you open it — turns simple browsing into a fight. Since Edge is built into Windows and many people rely on it, a crashing browser is a real problem. The causes are usually small: a bad extension, a corrupted cache, or hardware acceleration clashing with your graphics. Here's how to settle it down.

Work through these in order. The first three fix the large majority of Edge crashes.

Quick checklist

Close Edge fully and reopen
Update Edge and Windows
Clear Edge's cache
Disable your extensions
Turn off hardware acceleration
Repair Edge
Reset Edge as a last resort

Why Edge keeps crashing

The most common causes are a faulty extension, a corrupted cache, hardware acceleration conflicting with your graphics driver, or an outdated version. The fixes below work through each, starting with the quickest.

The 7 fixes

Close Edge fully and reopen

A stuck Edge process can keep crashing. Clear it out first.

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
End every Microsoft Edge entry.
Reopen Edge.

Update Edge and Windows

Crashes are often fixed in newer releases, so make sure both are current.

In Edge, paste edge://settings/help into the address bar and press Enter — Edge checks for and installs updates, then restarts.
Then go to Settings → Windows Update → Check for updates.

Clear Edge's cache

A corrupted cache is a leading cause of repeated crashing. Clearing it won't delete your passwords or favourites.

Paste edge://settings/clearBrowserData into the address bar and press Enter.
Set the time range to All time, tick Cached images and files and Cookies and other site data, then click Clear now.
Restart Edge.

Disable your extensions

A single bad extension can crash the whole browser. Test by turning them all off.

Paste edge://extensions into the address bar and press Enter.
Toggle every extension off, then restart Edge.
If the crashing stops, turn them back on one at a time to find the culprit, and remove that one.

Turn off hardware acceleration

This setting uses your GPU to speed Edge up, but on some drivers it causes crashing.

Paste edge://settings/system into the address bar and press Enter.
Turn off Use graphics acceleration when available.
Restart Edge and test.

Repair Edge

Windows can repair Edge without affecting your favourites, passwords or history.

Go to Settings → Apps → Installed apps.
Find Microsoft Edge → three dots → Modify (or Repair).
Follow the prompt — Edge reinstalls itself cleanly and keeps your data.

Reset Edge as a last resort

Resetting returns Edge's settings to default and disables extensions, which clears stubborn crashes. Your favourites and saved passwords are kept.

Paste edge://settings/reset into the address bar and press Enter.
Click Restore settings to their default values → Reset.
Restart Edge.

Frequently asked questions

Will I lose my favourites and passwords?

No. Clearing the cache, repairing, and resetting Edge all keep your favourites and saved passwords. Resetting only turns off extensions and restores default settings.

Edge crashes the instant I open it. How do I change settings?

If you can't keep Edge open, repair it first from Windows Settings (fix 6) — that doesn't need Edge running. Once it's stable, clear the cache and disable extensions.

Can I uninstall Edge if it keeps crashing?

Edge is built into Windows and isn't meant to be fully removed. Repairing or resetting it (fixes 6 and 7) is the supported way to get a clean, stable copy back.

Why does Edge crash only on certain sites?

That usually points to hardware acceleration or an extension interfering with that site's content. Turn off acceleration (fix 5) and disable extensions (fix 4) to test.

Using Chrome too and hitting trouble? See our guide to Chrome won't open on Windows. Still crashing here? Send us the details.

Send us the details →

Microsoft Edge keeps crashing on Windows? 7 fixes that work