Microsoft tries and fails to improve Edge – now it’s more annoying in Windows 10
New bug prevents web browser from closing
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Oh dear,Microsoft. In a bid to make its Edge web browser better by adding a new ‘Startup boost’ feature that is supposed to make it load up faster, it looks like it’s actually made things worse, with a bug preventing the browser from closing properly.
The new feature would launch some Edge browser processes in the background whenWindows 10starts, so when you actually launch the browser it should start up much faster – as many of its processes are already running.
While this is all well and good – though you may bristle at the idea of Edge loading certain processes whenWindows 10starts, which could impact overall startup times – some users have found a rather annoying bug where even if you close the Edge window, the browser won’t actually close, but will continue to run in the background, and will relaunch again, running even more processes.
This is far from ideal, and means after a while of using, closing and reopening Edge, you may see an impact to your PC’s performance, as it’ll be struggling to run multiple instances of Edge at once.
Bug spotting
AsWindows Latest reports, several users have complained about the issue, which is causing their PCs to perform badly. Turning off Startup Boost in Edge appears to fix the problem.
If you have noticed a drop in performance recently, then this may be the cause. Bringing up the Task Manager in Windows 10 (Ctrl + Shift + Esc on your keyboard) can show you if this is an issue – if there are loads of Edge processes running, then you’re likely impacted by the bug.
Some other users are also complaining that when closing Edge, it immediately opens again.
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You can turn off Startup boost by opening Edge, clicking the icon of three horizontal dots to bring up the menu and clicking ‘Settings’. From the window that appears, click ‘System’, then click the toggle next to ‘Startup Boost’ to turn it off.
Microsoft has also announcedthat it has decided to “temporarily disable Startup Boost since it was causing a frustrating issue for some users”.
So, you may find this issue has already been solved. If not, check to see if you have any updates waiting for you in the Windows Update app. Microsoft is now looking into ways to bring back Startup Boost without causing problems for users.
It’s good that Microsoft has moved quickly to address this issue, but it’s a bit embarrassing that in its bid to make Edge better, it’s ended up annoying a lot of people instead.
Matt is TechRadar’s Managing Editor for Core Tech, looking after computing and mobile technology. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there’s no aspect of technology that Matt isn’t passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. He’s personally reviewed and used most of the laptops in our best laptops guide - and since joining TechRadar in 2014, he’s reviewed over 250 laptops and computing accessories personally.
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