farouche,
In order to get your Windows machine back into shape, you may choose to remove the Brave Browser entirely, including its satellite files that the Windows OS is notorious for laying around here and there aboard a PC.
First, make sure that you can view hidden files:
“https://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/show-hidden-files-and-folders-in-windows-vista/”
Second, get and install CCleaner by Piriform - they have a free version - for cleaning cache and finding things (that are, in your view, obviously Brave Browser items) that you may remove from the Windows Registry.
“https://www.ccleaner.com/ccleaner/download?pc”
DO NOT YET use CCleaner, for that Registry work.
Third, back up your Bookmarks.html file.
Go to: brave://bookmarks/
Locate the Menu button — possibly near the Search (Magnifying Glass) icon
Click on that button, and select “Export bookmarks”
Tips on exporting the Bookmarks:
Important: Restarting your Windows machine.
When you Restart your Windows computing device, the Operating System does - let us say - bookkeeping and maintenance, cleaning up some things.
IF / when you have a notion to Restart, Exit / Quit everything and do that.
Restart your Windows machine, now.
When your computer is again up and running . . .
If you discover that a Brave Browser uninstaller was not included with the Brave Browser installation, you might use the Windows OS process for uninstalling:
“https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/uninstall-or-remove-apps-and-programs-in-windows-10-4b55f974-2cc6-2d2b-d092-5905080eaf98”
Next, you need to remove any Brave flotsam and jetsam (ancillary / ho-hum / what are these, here?) satellite files and folders within
-
C:\Users\YourNamePossibly\AppData\Local\
-
C:\Users\YourNamePossibly\AppData\LocalLow\
-
C:\Users\YourNamePossibly\AppData\Roaming\
IMPORTANT: BACK UP YOUR REGISTRY, before proceeding.
“https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/how-to-back-up-and-restore-the-registry-in-windows-855140ad-e318-2a13-2829-d428a2ab0692”
IMPORTANT: CREATE A SYSTEM RESTORE POINT
“https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/create-a-system-restore-point-77e02e2a-3298-c869-9974-ef5658ea3be9”
After that, THIS is when you need to run CCleaner; tips for doing the VERY CAREFUL Windows Registry, Brave items - nit picking (if in doubt, then do not remove an item):
“https://whatsabyte.com/clean-windows-registry/”
There, scroll down to
Follow all that work, by another Restart of your computer.
When your computer is up and running again, most of Brave Browser and its satellite files — that the Windows OS places other than at C:\Program Files\ -AND/OR- C:\Program Files (x86) — should be missing.
During the Restart, the Windows OS will have noticed that, done some bookkeeping and maintenance . . . and upon a completed Restart, the Windows OS should be properly displaying the appearance of file icons (previously troubled by the Brave Browser presence).
DO NOT, yet, after all that work of removing things . . . Double-Click nor Right-Click to open any of the [formerly] troubled icons.
INSTEAD, Open one such troubled PDF file, by launching Adobe Acrobat / Adobe Acrobat Reader and then use that application’s File > Open command to get the Open dialog box for navigating to the PDF file . . . and select the PDF file.
You need the legit parent application to open such files, by said parent navigating (by your efforts) to the files in question.
From an earlier reply of mine, to you - choosing the default applications:
“Brave converted my pdfs to Brave browser html files AGAIN - #5 by 289wk”
PS. You may search at this Brave Community, to find others’ methods for removing a software package.
