Brave not restoring tabs on open, acting as if was not installed yet

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1

New Windows 11 install. Everything went fine. Normal workflow on this computer is to have (2) Browser Profiles open at same time in different Desktops.

Imported settings from Chrome.
Setup many Tab Groups by hand.
Repeat process to setup a 2nd Profile same way.

All seemed fine. Problem is that on restart, after choosing a profile, not only are NO session tabs are restored at all, BUT I keep getting the brave://welcome/ page asking me to set default browser (already done and checked many times) as if the install had not been completed.

Both profiles are set to “Continue where you left off” in settings.

As above process was:

  1. Install Brave on Win 11
  2. Import Chrome settings from profile
  3. Create 2nd profile
  4. Import from 2nd Chrome profile
  5. As above - attempt to close/open Brave. Each time no tabs are restored and only the Welcome tab appears. Same behavior for either profile.

Expected result:

I would expect basic common modern browser behavior - restoring all tabs open in last session. I would expect Brave to not keep prompting me to make it the default browser when it is already the default browser.

Brave Version( check About Brave):

v1.77.101

Additional Information:

2

OK in Task Manager I found a load of phantom stuck Brave processes. Once I force closed those the tabs are restoring properly. Unclear why/how that happened. Seems OK for now.