How to fix Microsoft Edge freezes or crashes when opening PDF files on Windows

The built-in browser Microsoft Edge is also the default application for opening and viewing PDF files in Windows 11/10. Nowadays, it is a common practice for people to communicate and send PDF files as email attachments. To open and view these PDF files, you need to double-click the file and Edge will open the selected PDF file.

However, some users have reported that when trying to open any PDF file on their Windows PC, the Edge browser freezes or collapse. Once the browser freezes, the user will not be able to use the browser, change any tabs, or perform any other operations. However, they were able to open other applications and use them without any problems. This indicates that the problem is with the browser, not the system.

If you are facing issues with Edge browser freezing or crashing while opening any PDF file, then you are at the right place. In this article, let us take a look at the different troubleshooting strategies to resolve this issue using Microsoft Edge browser on Windows PC.

Before proceeding with the fixes mentioned below, make sure you trust the person who received the email with the PDF attachment. Also, before downloading a file from an email, check that the file contains the correct extension. For example, here we need to ensure that the PDF file has a .pdf extension before downloading it from the email.

Fix 1 – End Edge Mission and open it again

1. Press the Ctrl Shift Esc key to open the Task Manager.

After opening Task Manager, go to the Details tab.

2. In the Details tab, you need to scroll and find the Microsoft Edge process msedge.exe in the list of processes running on your computer.

Right click on msedge.exe and select option End process tree.

Click the End Process Tree button to confirm the end of the Edge process.

#3. Now, you will notice that all the windows of the Edge browser will be closed.

Reopen Microsoft Edge and check if you are able to download and open PDF files without the browser freezing or crashing.

Fix 2 – Clear browsing history and cache

1. Open Edge Browser.

In the browser's address bar, type edge://settings/clearBrowserData and press Enter.

2. You will now see the "Clear Browsing Data" window pop-up.

Use the drop-down menu below the time range and select All times from the list.

Also, make sure that the options mentioned below are checked.

• Browsing history
• Download history
• Cookies and other website data
• Cached images and files
• Site permissions
• All data from older versions of Microsoft edge
• Media Foundation Data

Then, click the Clear Now button.

#3. This operation may take some time depending on the data cached in the browser.

Restart the Edge browser and check if the issue with opening PDF files has been fixed.

Fix 3 – Disable or remove browser extensions

1. Launch the Microsoft Edge browser.

Go to the address bar at the top and type the command below and press Enter to open the Extensions page.

边缘：//扩展

2. On the Extensions page, you will see a list of extensions installed on your Edge browser.

Disable all extensions listed on this page by turning off the toggle associated with them.

Turn on the toggle switch associated with the extension) and test until you find the offending extension.

确定有问题的扩展程序后，您可以通过单击“删除”链接对其进行更新或从浏览器中删除该扩展程序。

修复 4 – 重置边缘浏览器

1. 在 Edge 浏览器顶部的地址栏上，键入以下命令并按Enter以打开重置设置页面。

边缘：//设置/重置

2. 单击重置设置中的将设置恢复 为默认值。