Brave Browser update and Windows OS Registry issues

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Description of the issue: Brave was failing to update. When I looked for why that might be I found sites mentioning that there was an issue with some installations pointing to the wrong download channel, with instructions on how to update the registry entry to correct the issue.
When I went to make the correction I discovered that I did not have any registry entry for Brave at Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\BraveSoftware\Update\ClientState{AFE6A462-C574-4B8A-AF43-4CC60DF4563B
Infact I could not find an entry for BraveSoftware at all. (I eventually found that that was likely due to me installing Brave via winget)
To ensure that I wouldnt have any issues going forward I uninstalled and reinstalled Brave using the installer from https://brave.com/download but while Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\BraveSoftware now exists in the registry, there is no entry for \BraveSoftware\Update, only \BraveSoftware\Brave\Vpn, and \BraveSoftware\Vpn

Should this be the expected entry, and what can I do to prevent update issues going forward?

Current Version: Version 1.76.74 Chromium: 134.0.6998.89 (Official Build) (64-bit)

Additional Information: I have installed Brave on a different system via winget and have not had any issues with updates on that system. Both systems are Win11 Pro

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Take a look at:

C:\ProgramData\BraveSoftware\Update\Log\BraveUpdate.log

And:

Custom installation folder - #4 by anon57438784

Usually and in general . . .

Do not block any of the following download/update sources:

  • brave-core-ext.s3.brave.com
  • componentupdater.brave.com
  • go-updater.brave.com
  • laptop-updates-pre.brave.com
  • laptop-updates.brave.com
  • sqs.us-west-2.amazonaws.com
  • updates-cdn.bravesoftware.com
  • updates.bravesoftware.com
  • variations.brave.com

Do not block any of the following operational sources:

  • brave-sync.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com
  • community.brave.com
  • safebrowsing.brave.com
  • search.brave.com
  • support.brave.com
Brave Browser installation location on Windows OS

Application “brave.exe”

64 architecture

C:\Program Files\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\Application\brave.exe

The initial Brave Browser Profile is, by default, named “Profile 1” (unless you change that name → brave://settings/getStarted).

The folder that contains the initial Brave Browser Profile, is the Default folder (a name that you must not change):

C:\Users[UserName]\AppData\Local\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Default\

That path may also be written:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Default\

%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Default\

If you create 1 additional Profile (aka “Profile 2”), it will be stored in folder Profile 1:

C:\Users[UserName]\AppData\Local\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Profile 1\

If you create a 2nd additional Profile (aka “Profile 3”), it will be stored in folder Profile 2:

C:\Users[UserName]\AppData\Local\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Profile 2\

IMPORTANT - Replacing Profile folders

When replacing Brave Browser Profile folders:

Folder named Default (including its contents) can only replace its likeness: the folder named Default.

Folder named Profile 1 (including its contents) can only replace its likeness: the folder named Profile 1.

Folder named Profile 2 (including its contents) can only replace its likeness: the folder named Profile 2.

IMPORTANT - Brave Browser Preferences

Some Brave Browser Preferences are stored in the Preferences file:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Default\Preferences

The contents of that Preferences file, are not exactly the contents of, brave://prefs-internals/.

Some Brave Browser Preferences are stored in the Local State file:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Default\Local State

Bookmarks and Bookmarks.bak files:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Default\Bookmarks
%LOCALAPPDATA%\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Default\Bookmarks.bak

Cache (folder):

%LOCALAPPDATA%\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Default\Cache\

Cookies (file):

%LOCALAPPDATA%\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Default\Cookies

History (file - usually lots of data):

%LOCALAPPDATA%\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Default\History

Crash Reports:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\BraveSoftware\CrashReports\

Brave Browser installers are available at:

https://github.com/brave/brave-browser/blob/master/CHANGELOG_DESKTOP.md

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I didnt block anything, and I dont have a C:\ProgramData\BraveSoftware

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Other areas of interest: brave://chrome-urls/#internals

Specifically:

  • brave://profile-internals/
  • brave://local-state/
  • brave://prefs-internals/
  • brave://components/
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