Windows 10: Edge running in background

Since first getting this Lenovo desktop both Internet Explorer and Edge have caused my screen to go black as soon as they opened. This wasn't much of a problem as there are other browsers... The last two years no problems, but from about March and forward every time Win 10 updates I'm getting a black screen that only a reset that will temporarily fix the problem. I'd thought it must be the graphics driver causing the problem. During this time Firefox would hang and report the problem was a program running in the background. Only once did it say another browser was running, but did not identify it as Edge. It was on the last update that Edge boldly uninstalled Firefox, causing me to lose all my saved book marks, passwords, add-ons, etc. and installed itself front and center. I reinstalled everything and closed Edge, but it must still be running in the background as updates still end with a black screen and Firefox continues to hang and say a program is running in the background.

What is the solution?

:)

 

Edge running in background

Hummm…. I'm hearing that changing the background permissions does NOT solve the problem. So, I'd be very interested in feedback from you if this is true or false.

Here is some background info...

Starting with Windows 10 version 1803 (the so-called Spring 2018 Update), there is an Edge background task that runs at login and approximately every 2 hours afterwards.
Note: Changes to the Privacy->Background Apps settings do not alter this behavior...

An oddity of this situation is that if you launch Edge normally, it will kill off the background version. So, if you launch Edge, and then close it, that gives you an approximate 2 hour window for your other utilities to run without
interference from Edge.

Another oddity is that if you change the default browser to something else, then Edge will not launch at login. Although, I haven't been able to personally verify this claim.

 

Edge running in background

Why is Microsoft Edge running in the background? Is this necessary or a virus?

 

Background applications

Hi Robert,

We understand that you don't want some apps to run on the background of your computer. What we suggest is to
control which apps are allowed to run in the background. To see which apps have permission, just follow the below steps:

• Open the Start menu or Start screen and select “Settings.”
• Click or tap the “Privacy” icon in the Settings.
• Scroll down to the bottom of the list and select “Background apps.”
  
• You’ll see a list of apps that have permission to run in the background with an “On/Off” toggle.

Just bear in mind that, apps normally run in the background to update their live tiles, download new data, and receive notifications. If you want an app to continue performing these functions, you should allow it to continue running in
the background.

Feel free to update us with the results.