MS Edge v96 on Windows 10 & DevTools/F12 crashing bug while launching pinned version & debugging under analysis (workaround)

If you are running Windows 10, you must have definitely used Edge at some point in time, even if to download other browsers such as Chrome and Safari. It is the successor to the much-dreaded Internet Explorer.

While the initial version of Chrome ran on Microsoft’s own browser engine called EdgeHTML, the latest version adopts Chromium-based Blink and V8 engine. Microsft now frequently updates the browser bringing in new features and performance improvements.

That being said, Microsoft recently updated Edge across all devices to v96. But MS Edge users are now reporting that the app crashes whenever they launch the version pinned to the taskbar, while others maintain the unpinned version crashes as well.

Hi, version 96.0.1054.34 also instant-crashes when pinned or when using C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\msedge.exe directly from Windows Explorer. What’s weird is, if Edge is already open, that version of the EXE works fine. Using the msedge.exe inside the version-specific path works as well.
(Source)

As per the original report on 96.0.1054.29, the bug is still here. Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\msedge.exe crashes, either pinned (system default) or loaded directly. Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\VERSION\msedge.exe works fine, either pinned (by the user via drag and drop) or loaded directly. This solution results in two taskbar icons.
(Source)

Fortunately, an Edge Community Manager has commented on the matter and it seems that the issue is currently under investigation.

Hey there u/ukjinplant and u/Stone-D, looks like you two both had this crash but have changed a shortcut to get Edge back up and running – since you can get the browser to open, I’m tagging you two for this. Are either of you able to open the browser, head over to edge://crashes, and confirm if these failures are reporting as crashes there? If so, can you make sure the crash was uploaded and then copy the most recent upload to the clipboard using the button at the top, then send it my way? I’ll make sure the team has the info and is following up on this!
(Source)

Apart from the Edge v96 crashing issue, users are reporting that DevTools are crashing when debugging.

I have sent the crash diagnosis, my bucket id is the same as u/SmiddyP 39d3e13ace25ff8839ccc3043788cb1a. I can reproduce it easily. I open the devtool and start browsing. The devtool becomes slow and eventually crashes after some browsing (on the CNN website for example).
(Source)

Same for me. Every time I navigate the process memory increases without ever dropping and the console ends up crashing.
(Source)

Thankfully, there seems to be a workaround shared by an Edge Community Manager that seems to help many. They also said a fix will be coming soon.

Hey folks, quick update – Looks like this is an issue with memory and the fix is on the way. Editing to add a workaround: This is caused by source maps being missing, so the only workarounds would be to add source maps in your project space where DevTools can access them, or, for the time being, disabling the “Enable JavaScript source maps” feature in DevTools settings. To do so, within DevTools, you can press F1 to open the DevTools settings panel, and in the “Sources” header, you can un-check the setting.
(Source)

As always, we will update this article when Microsoft fixes the Edge v96 crashing issues, so make sure you keep checking this space.

Note: We have more such stories in our dedicated Microsoft Section so be sure to follow them as well.

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