Disable Microsoft Edge Pre-launching in Windows 10

Windows 10 comes with a new default browser, Microsoft Edge. It's a Universal app which has extension support, a fast rendering engine and a simplified user interface. In this article, we will see how to prevent the Edge app from automatically starting with the OS when you didn't open it.

Edge got a lot of changes with recent releases of Windows 10. The browser now has extension support, EPUB support, a built-in PDF reader, the ability to export passwords and favorites and a number of other useful functions like the ability to go Full screen with a single key stroke. In Windows 10 Creators Update, Edge got support for tab groups (Set Tabs Aside). In Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, the browser has been updated with Fluent Design.

Another great feature of the Microsoft Edge web browser is the ability to print web pages without ads, extra decorations and styles. Check out the following article.

Print Web Pages Clutter-Free in Microsoft Edge

Finally, you can make Microsoft Edge read the contents of a PDF, EPUB file, or a web page using the built-in Read Aloud feature of the browser.

Also, the browser allows making specific extensions available in InPrivate windows. This can be done for each extension individually.

As you may already know, Microsoft Edge has a background process which starts with Windows,  and remains running when you close the browser. This allows the browser to start faster, and increases its performance and responsiveness.

If you are not a Microsoft Edge user, and prefer an alternative app instead, you might want to get rid of that pre-loader process. Starting in Windows 10 Build 17723, there is a new option that can be used to disable the process. Here is how.

To disable Microsoft Edge pre-launching in Windows 10, do the following.

1. Open Registry Editor.
2. Go to the following Registry key:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\MicrosoftEdge\Main

   Tip: See how to jump to the desired Registry key with one click.

   If you do not have such a key, then just create it.

3. Here, create a new 32-bit DWORD value AllowPrelaunch. Note: Even if you are running 64-bit Windows, you still need to use a 32-bit DWORD as the value type.
   Leave its value data as 0 to disable the preloader process.
4. To make the changes done by the Registry tweak take effect, you need to sign out and sign in again to your user account.

Later, you can delete the AllowPrelaunch value to restore defaults.

Disable Microsoft Edge pre-launching in Windows 10 for all users

To disable the Microsoft Edge pre-launching feature for all users, ensure that you are signed in as Administrator before proceeding.

1. 1. Go to the following Registry key:

      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\MicrosoftEdge\Main

      Create the same value here, AllowPrelaunch as described above.

   2. Tip: You can switch between HKCU and HKLM in Windows 10 Registry Editor quickly.
   3. Restart Windows 10 to apply the restriction and you are done.

To save your time, I made ready-to-use Registry files. You can download them here:

Download Registry Files

Using the Local Group Policy Editor app

If you are running Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, or Education edition, you can use the Local Group Policy Editor app to configure the options mentioned above with a GUI.

1. Press Win + R keys together on your keyboard and type:

   gpedit.msc

   Press Enter.

2. Group Policy Editor will open. Go to User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components/Microsoft Edge.
3. On the right, configure the policy option Allow Microsoft Edge to pre-launch at Windows startup, when the system is idle, and each time Microsoft Edge is closed. Set it to Prevent pre-launching.

That's it