How to Stop Edge Browser From Restoring Tabs After a Crash

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Something happens that causes your Edge browser to crash or makes you force close it. Perhaps it's a website with bad code. Maybe you just have too many tabs open. However, when you reopen your browser, all the same tabs start loading again. That's because, by default, Edge browser restores all tabs when you relaunch it after a force close, which can be frustrating if you force closed because you wanted to get rid of those tabs. Microsoft doesn't provide an easy setting to turn this auto recover feature off, but by adding changing a couple of hidden settings, you can disable it.

Note that this process involves editing the Windows registry, which is a database of all your computers' important settings. If you were go to around deleting entries or randomly renaming folders in the registry, you could mess up your system, but if you follow our instructions and don't intentionally break things, you shouldn't have a problem.

1. Open regedit. Hit Windows + R and type regedit into the run dialog box. Click Ok. 

2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/policies/Microsoft/. You can get there by opening the folders in the left pane of the Registry Editor, much as you would navigate a folder tree in Windows Explorer.

3. Right click in the right pane and select New > Key. An unnamed entry appears.

4. Rename the key to MicrosoftEdge. 

5. Create a key named Recovery under MicrosoftEdge, using the same method.

6. Right click select New > DWORD (32-bit value) in the right pane of the Recovery key .

7. Name the new value AutoRecover.

8. Open AutoRecover and set its value to 2. Click Ok.

9. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft.

10. Repeat steps 3 to 6 from this location so that you have a HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\MicrosoftEdge\Recovery\AutoRecover DWORD Value set to 2.

Edge browser will always open to a single tab, even if you force closed it or it crashed.

Edge Browser Tips

Having issues with Windows 10? Our sister site, Tom’s Hardware, has a team of staffers standing by in the forums to answer your questions 24/7.

Avram Piltch
Avram Piltch
Online Editorial Director
The official Geeks Geek, as his weekly column is titled, Avram Piltch has guided the editorial and production of Laptopmag.com since 2007. With his technical knowledge and passion for testing, Avram programmed several of LAPTOP's real-world benchmarks, including the LAPTOP Battery Test. He holds a master's degree in English from NYU.