How to Fix the Microsoft Edge Browser When It Keeps Crashing

Diagnose why Edge keeps closing or crashing and fix it

Co-authored by Hannah Dillon Reviewed by Stan Kats

Last Updated: March 20, 2026 Fact Checked

Does Microsoft Edge keep crashing? This is a very frustrating issue, especially when it starts happening for seemingly no reason and completely out of the blue. While there's no one solution to fix a crashy Microsoft Edge client, there are a few easy troubleshooting methods you can try. In this article, we go over 10 ways you can quickly and easily fix Microsoft Edge when it keeps crashing. Read on to learn how.

Fixing Microsoft Edge When It Crashes

First, try closing background processes and browser tabs, and restarting your PC. Make sure both Edge and any third-party antivirus programs are up to date. You can also try disabling hardware acceleration and any extensions you have installed in Edge. If nothing else works, try reinstalling Windows.

1

Close Background Processes

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Close browser tabs and other open apps. If Edge starts up for a few minutes before it crashes, try closing some of your open tabs. Otherwise, close any other apps you have open. Edge could be crashing because there's not enough memory available on your computer to run it.^{[1]
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- One way you can check your computer's memory usage is to open Task Manager. Right-click on the taskbar and click Task Manager, then look at the "Memory" column. If your computer is using a lot of memory before you open Edge, close any programs that are eating up lots of memory. If you open Edge and see that your memory usage spikes, you've likely got a lot of tabs open, which causes Edge to use up too much memory.

2

Restart Your Computer

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Turn your computer off and back on to fix random glitches. Sometimes, Edge stops working due to a random bug or glitch. While it might not seem like restarting your computer will fix these issues, it's actually one of the fastest and easiest ways to do so. If Edge keeps crashing, try turning off your PC and turning it back on again.
- Remember to use the power menu to restart your computer. Avoid using the power button on your PC unless necessary. Doing a hard shutdown can cause you to lose data if you've got programs with unsaved files open.

3

Update Microsoft Edge

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Make sure Edge is fully up to date. If you're able to open Edge without it crashing immediately, make sure it's updated. To do this, click the three-dot icon in the upper-right corner, click Settings, and then click About Microsoft Edge at the bottom of the sidebar. If an update is available, it should immediately begin downloading and installing.^{[2]
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- If you can't open Edge, you can still try to update it in a couple of ways. You can try repairing it (see below) or running Windows Update.

4

Disable Hardware Acceleration

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Turn off hardware acceleration in Edge's settings. If you're able to open Edge, you can try disabling hardware acceleration. While hardware acceleration typically makes Edge work a bit faster, it can have the opposite effect depending on your system, and it may even cause Edge to crash.^{[3]
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- To disable hardware acceleration, click the three-dot icon in the upper-right corner, then click Settings.
- In the search bar in the left-hand sidebar, type hardware acceleration, then press ↵ Enter.
- Click System.
- Click the toggle to turn off "Use graphics acceleration when available." This will turn off hardware acceleration. Close Edge, then try opening it again.

5

Disable Extensions

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Turn off your Microsoft Edge extensions. A faulty extension could be causing Edge to crash. If you can open Edge, you can easily disable your extensions. If Edge doesn't crash after you disable your extensions, you'll have to go through them to narrow down which one is causing the crash.^{[4]
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- To disable your extensions, copy and paste edge://extensions into the address bar and press ↵ Enter. Toggle off each extension on this page to turn it off. After all the extensions are disabled, restart Edge.
- If you find that extensions are the culprit, try enabling each extension one by one until you find the one that is causing Edge to crash. You can then remove that extension and re-enable all the others.

6

Do a Virus Scan

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Check for viruses and malware that could be causing Edge to crash. To do this, simply open your antivirus program of choice and run a scan. We'll explain how to use Windows Security (Windows' built-in antivirus) below. If you have a different antivirus and aren't sure how to use it, consult its documentation for more information.
- Open Windows Security.
- Click Virus & threat protection.
- Click Quick scan.
- If any viruses or malware are found, quarantine and remove them.

7

Update Your Antivirus

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Make sure any third-party antivirus programs are updated. According to Microsoft, a third-party antivirus (such as Malwarebytes, Avast, McAfee, and Norton) that isn't updated may cause Microsoft Edge to crash. To update your antivirus, open the program. Most antivirus programs will notify you when you open them if there is a pending update. Otherwise, try looking for an option to update in the program's menus, specifically a Settings or Preferences menu.^{[5]
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8

Repair Microsoft Edge

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Repair Edge when it refuses to open. If Microsoft Edge won't stay open and crashes as soon as you launch it, you may need to try repairing it. Before beginning, make sure that Edge is closed and that you're logged in to an administrator account. If you have multiple accounts on the same PC, make sure Edge is closed in all of them.^{[6]
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- Right-click the Windows icon in the taskbar and click Installed apps.
- Locate Microsoft Edge. You can either scroll to find it, or you can use the search bar at the top of the menu to search for it directly.
- Click the three-dot icon to the right of Microsoft Edge.
- Click Modify. If you're prompted to confirm that you want to open this menu, click Yes.
- Click Repair. Once Edge is done being repaired, you can check it again.

9

Disable Copilot

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Some users have found that Copilot caused their Microsoft Edge to crash. In the past, Microsoft Edge updates have caused the app to crash when Copilot was enabled. To fix this, simply disable Copilot in Microsoft Edge.^{[7]
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- Click the three-dot icon in the upper-right corner, then click Settings.
- Click AI Innovations in the sidebar, near the bottom.
- Click Explore Copilot Mode.
- Toggle off Copilot Mode in the new tab that pops up.

10

Reinstall Windows

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If nothing else works, try reinstalling Windows. You can easily reinstall your current version of Windows without uninstalling any of your apps or losing any data. If Edge keeps crashing and nothing else works, reinstalling Windows should fix the issue. Here's how to do it:
- Back up your data. Even though you won't lose any data during this process, it's never a bad idea to have a backup just in case.
- Open the Settings app. The easiest way to do this is to right-click the Windows icon in the taskbar and click Settings.
- Go to System > Recovery.
- Click Reinstall now under "Fix problems using Windows Update."
- Click OK to begin the reinstallation.^{[8]
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  - If you want your PC to automatically restart 15 minutes after installation, check the box on this page before clicking OK. You'll have to restart your PC anyway after Windows has been reinstalled, so it's not a bad idea to check this box.