How do I restore all my tabs from multiple windows in Microsoft Edge if my sync was off and they were permanently deleted after Microsoft Edge crashed?

Ritrina Wilson 0 Reputation points
2026-09-15T15:23:57.6333333+00:00

Good day. I was using Microsoft Edge when it suddenly crashed and exited all on its own, When I decided to reopen Microsoft Edge and pressed restore, a few seconds after, it froze and crashed again. I opened Microsoft Edge once more and was unable to restore all my previous windows filled with hundreds of tabs - they weren't in history either. How do I restore all my lost information? What the hell am I supposed to do now?

Microsoft Edge | Browser crashes or stops working | Windows 11

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  1. Thomas4-N 21,930 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-09-17T09:17:37.0666667+00:00

    Hello Ritrina Wilson,

    Before giving up, there is one last-chance local recovery option worth checking.

    Microsoft Edge normally keeps session data locally, and there are Microsoft Q&A cases where users recovered large lost sessions by finding surviving files under:

    %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Edge\User Data\Default\Sessions

    This is not an officially documented Microsoft recovery method, though, so I would first close Edge and make a backup copy of the entire Sessions folder before changing anything.

    Since Sync was off, there would not be a synced copy of the open tabs available from another device. Microsoft confirms that open tabs are among the data Edge can sync when Sync is enabled.

    If the Sessions folder still contains older session files from before the crash, I would preserve those first. If those files have already been overwritten, then the remaining recovery options are unfortunately much more limited.

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  2. AI answer

    2026-09-15T15:24:26.7733333+00:00

    If sync was off and the tabs are no longer available in the restore flow or History, the supported recovery options are very limited.

    What can still be checked:

    1. In Edge, open Settings and more > Settings > Start, home, and new tab page.
    2. Make sure Open tabs from the previous session is selected.
    3. Open History with Ctrl + H and check Recently closed.
    4. If the needed pages appear, reopen them and pin them again.

    If Edge is still unstable after the crash, use the built-in repair:

    1. Close Microsoft Edge.
    2. Go to Start > Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
    3. Select Microsoft Edge > Modify.
    4. Select Yes if prompted.
    5. Stay connected to the internet and select Repair.

    The repair process should not affect browser data and settings.

    To reduce the chance of this happening again:

    • Turn on Open tabs from the previous session.
    • Save important sites to Favorites.
    • For pages that must always reopen, use Open custom sites on startup.
    • If moving between devices later, sign in and turn on sync for Open tabs, Favorites, and Settings.

    If the tabs were permanently deleted after the repeated crash and were not synced, not shown in Recently closed, and not present in History, no supported recovery method is provided in the available guidance.

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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