Why do you need resetting Microsoft Edge settings?
We all know that Microsoft Edge is not the most used and preferred browser by users. According to statistical indicators, it covers less than 3% of market share worldwide, so that most of the attacks are mainly centered on Chrome that covers more than 60% of total users. However, Microsoft Edge cannot brag about its achievements in neutralizing all of the attacks either. It still has some vulnerabilities and flaws that can disturb users’ activity. Malicious adware, applications, and extensions that can be found in Microsoft Store can be determined as the main reasons people get attacked by when surfing via Edge. Luckily, all of the browsers can boast about an incredibly useful function to reset settings and clear up all of the trash accumulated throughout exploitation, therefore, head back to the clean sheet to boost up the speed and quality of a browser. In this article, you will learn how to perform this manipulation with the Microsoft Edge browser.
Remove viruses, hijackers, adware, unwanted apps from your PC
Before we get to resetting browser settings, make sure you scan your device fro diverse viruses and other potentially unwanted apps. Always remember that there might be something sitting deeply in your computer that arises any problem related to Microsoft Edge. Otherwise, resetting settings will not help you anyway. You can use a trusted malware removal software called SpyHunter 5, which is known to be very effective in detecting and suppressing unwanted stuff on your device. Offering a range of tools, it provides immediate malware removal, including system guard protection and other options you can capitalize on. You can download SpyHunter by clicking on the green button below.
How to reset settings in Edge manually
There are a couple of ways you can reset your browser settings and here they are:
Reset Microsoft Edge right on computer
- Right-click on the Start button in the lower-left corner and select Apps and Features.
- Scroll through the list until you find Microsoft Edge, click it, and then click on the Advanced options link.
- Scroll down, and under Reset paragrapgh click on Reset button.
Reset Edge by deleting files in browser folder
You can go for more extreme action. Usually, it helps when you cannot open the Edge browser at all and this method can effectively solve the problem by deleting all of the content internally. What to do:
- Press Windows key + R combination and type:Â
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Packages. - Find and open the folder named
Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbweand delete the content located within.
Reset browser settings via PowerShell
If something went wrong during the previous steps, you can try to go for the contingency plan which implies resetting Edge settings through the Windows Powershell feature. The upcoming command will delete and register the core data of Microsoft Edge. We recommend you to make a full back or restore point in case something will go off the plan. Here are the steps to initiate the process:
- In the search field next to the Start button type Powershell.
- Right-click on Powershell icon and select Run as an administrator and confirm in UAC.
- Now in the opened console paste this command:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml" -Verbose}. - Click Enter
When finished you will see the message like the one shown below. Close the Powershell window and launch the Edge browser. In some cases, you need to reboot your pc to see the changes.
Clear Edge history, cache and other data
While the former steps were meant to restore the browser to the blank paper, this option can delete data selectively.
- In Microsoft Edge browser, select Favorites (a star-like button in the upper right corner) -> History.
- Select Clear history.
- Choose the types of data you want to remove from your PC (see the table for descriptions).
- Select Clear.
Disable and remove extensions
As stated in the beginning, extensions can also be a buffer for transferring adware and other unwanted stuff. This subsequently means that you should be careful when adding any helping tool by checking its rating, amount of downloads and users’ feedback. Here is a short guide on how to remove or disable extensions in Edge.
- Open Microsoft Edge and select More (three horizontal dots) or Alt + X to open the menu.
- Select Extensions from the menu.
- Right-click on the extension you want to remove and select Uninstall, or select an extension and click Turn off button to disable.
Summary
This is how you can reset your Edge settings manually. Generally, all of these steps are similarly executed in any browser you will use. Every browser tries to provide the same algorithm of steps so that you do not get baffled when migrating from one browser to another. As you know, people leaped even further and created so-called utilities that can do all of the cleaning processes automatically. This is why I highly-recommend you installing IObit Uninstaller utility on your computer that offers multiple options to keep your PC safe and clear. MacPaw is a leading company in the IT industry that offers both IObit Uninstaller for Windows and Combo Cleaner for Macintosh users. Below, you can find some previews and download button.
