How To Stop Edge From Opening On Startup And Loading Its Resources?

Microsoft Edge is the replacement for Internet Explorer 11 that Microsoft supplies with Windows 10. Earlier when it was based on the EdgeHTML engine, the impact of the browser on the computer itself was fairly low. However, when it moved to the Chromium engine, the browser started loading its resources at startup which slowed down the boot time.

Here, I shall discuss how to stop Edge from opening on startup.

How To Stop Microsoft Edge From Starting Up Automatically?

If you have noticed this minutely, you will see that Microsoft Edge launches slightly faster than other Chromium-based web browsers. The primary reason behind this is the fact that Edge loads its resources when your computer boots up. While this is a good feature if you use Edge extensively, it may not benefit others, especially on low-end devices.

Also, since Edge is deeply integrated into the Windows 10 operating system, you cannot remove the application from the Startup tab in your task manager. Instead, you will have to use the following methods to prevent Microsoft Edge from opening at startup.

This is a two-step process and first involves changing a Chromium setting which allows browsers to preload their resources, and second involves making a change to the core operating system files. Follow these steps carefully, and you should be able to stop Microsoft Edge from starting up automatically without any errors.

Step 1: Change Background Apps Settings

The first step involves changing a setting that you will find in every chromium-based browser. This setting allows the browser to keep running in the background, even if the foreground executable is closed. Follow these steps for the same:

1. Open Microsoft Edge on your computer.
2. Click on the menu button in the top right corner of the browser, and select Settings from the menu that appears.
3. From the left pane, click on System.
4. In the right column, turn off the toggle next to the following option:
   Continue running background apps when Microsoft Edge is closed
5. Restart Edge for the change to take effect.

Next, you will need to change the system configuration using the built-in tools, to prevent Edge from preloading its resources upon boot.

Step 2: Change Configuration Settings:

There are two tools that you can use for this, the Local Group Policy editor, and the Registry Editor. Do note that the local Group Policy Editor is only available in Windows 10 Pro editions and above, so you may have to use the Registry Editor method on Home editions of the operating system.

Method 1: Use The Local Group Policy Editor

Follow these steps to prevent Microsoft Edge from pre-launching at boot using the Group Policy Editor:

1. In a Run dialog, type gpedit.msc and press Enter to launch the Local Group Policy Editor.
2. Navigate the following path by clicking on the appropriate options:
   Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Microsoft Edge
3. In the list of policies, locate the following policy and double click on it:
   Allow Microsoft Edge to pre-launch at Windows startup, when the system is idle, and each time Microsoft Edge is closed
4. Enable this entry by selecting the radio button next to the option.
5. Under the Options section, select Prevent pre-launching from the drop-down menu.

6. Click on Apply followed by OK to save your changes.
7. Next, open the following entry:
   Allow Microsoft Edge to start and load the Start and New Tab page at Windows startup and each time Microsoft Edge is closed
8. Enable this entry as well, and select Prevent tab preloading from the drop-down menu.
9. Click on Apply followed by OK to save your changes.

10. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

Note: If you wish to revert the changes, simply select the Not Configured radio button.

Method 2: Use The Registry Editor

Follow these steps if you wish to use the Registry Editor for the same effect:

1. In a Run dialog, type regedit and press Enter to launch the Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to the following location by pasting the path in the address bar of the Registry Editor:
   Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft
3. Right-click on the Microsoft key, and select New > Key from the context menu.
4. Name this key the following:
   MicrosoftEdge
5. Right-click on the MicrosoftEdge key, and again select New > Key.
6. Name this key the following:
   Main
7. Under the key named Main that you just created, right-click in the right column, and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
8. Name the DWORD value the following:
   AllowPrelaunch
9. Set the value for this DWORD entry as 0.

10. Next, go back to the MicrosoftEdge folder key that you created above.
11. In addition to the Main key, create another New > Key.
12. Name this key the following:
    TabPreloader
13. Under this key, right-click in the right column, and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
14. Name this DWORD value the following:
    AllowTabPreloading
15. Set the value for this DWORD entry as 0.

16. Save your changes and restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

Note: If you wish to revert the changes, simply delete the DWORD values you created.

Following both these steps, you should be able to stop Edge from opening on startup.

Wrapping Up

So there you have it. Now you know how to stop Edge from opening on startup and loading its resources, using the steps provided above. Comment below if you found this useful, and to discuss further the same.