After July 18, 2025 update, Brave will no longer launch in Windows10...why?

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Hi…hope everyone is doing well. This is my first time posting here because I need HELP since Brave won’t open anymore after the latest update! I have tried most everything suggested regarding this issue (run as admin, uninstall/reinstall, etc), but no luck!

Again, after the latest update to v.138.1.80.122, the Brave browser refuses to launch in Windows 10. I can’t get it to run in ANY mode (including trying to launch the “previous version”). The difference when trying to launch the previous version, is that the screen goes blank before refusing to open.

When I click on the program icon, the hourglass appears briefly but NOTHING happens! Everything was fine UNTIL the latest “update”. Not sure how to send a crash report because Brave won’t open, but I know it’s Brave version 138.1.80.122. PLEASE help…UGH! :unamused_face:

Here are my pc specs if it helps:

Device Name HP Pavillion
Processor Intel(R) Core™ i7-10750H CPU @ 2.60GHz 2.59 GHz
Installed RAM 16.0 GB (15.8 GB usable)
Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design (6 GB), Intel(R) UHD Graphics (128 MB)
Device ID 713B0EB7-2849-44EE-B43E-FF6FC6E53D47
Product ID 00325-81852-77141-AAOEM
System Type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
Pen and touch No pen or touch input is available for this display

Please tell me how to solve this issue. ANY and all assistance will be GREATLY appreciated…thanks in advance! :folded_hands:

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@SovereignARC

For starters, please make a backup of the User Data folder:
C:\Users\[UserName]\AppData\Local\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\

You might also use WinZip or 7zip to .zip compress that folder. Then I would rename the resulting .zip file, to show the date - example:

20250719-1931_Saturday_BB_UserData.zip

Store that outside the paths of the Brave Browser installation. I would also store an extra backup to an external drive.

TRY: Start up Brave Browser - unburdened - using the Brave Browser shortcut on your computer’s Desktop.

For the following Changed Path, the switches are intended to:

  • Start up Brave Browser, using the “Default” named user Profile folder [--profile-directory="Default"]
  • Showing a New Private Window [--incognito]
  • Disable all experiments at brave://flags [--no-experiments]
  • Disable extensions [--disable-extensions]
  • Disable hardware (GPU) ie Graphic Acceleration [--disable-gpu]
  • Enable leak detection and if that failure occurs, then crash the browser [--enable-leak-detection --crash-on-failure are a combo]
  • Produce error/log output to a file named ‘brave_console_out.txt’ on the Window OS Desktop

Changed Path:

64 architecture, system level installation:

"C:\Program Files\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\Application\brave.exe" --profile-directory="Default" --incognito --no-experiments --disable-extensions --disable-gpu --enable-leak-detection --crash-on-failure 2> %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\brave_console_out.txt

x86 architecture, system level installation:

"C:\Program Files(x86)\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\Application\brave.exe" --profile-directory="Default" --incognito --no-experiments --disable-extensions --disable-gpu --enable-leak-detection --crash-on-failure 2> %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\brave_console_out.txt

64 / x86 architecture, user level installation (NOTE: you must substitute your Windows OS user account name for [UserName]):

"C:\Users\[UserName]\AppData\Local\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\Application\brave.exe" --profile-directory="Default" --incognito --no-experiments --disable-extensions --disable-gpu --enable-leak-detection --crash-on-failure 2> %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\brave_console_out.txt

Notice that the existing path, BEFORE the additions, is enclosed by double-quote marks:

"C:\Users\[UserName]\AppData\Local\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\Application\brave.exe"

And, everything added to the existing path, is located after the existing path.