Browser wont launch after install

Browser Support
1

Description of the issue: I wanted to try a new browser and ended up on brave as my new option however after the first install where it opened for a few seconds and asked if I wanted to pin it to my taskbar whenever I open it even after reinstalls it will just flicker a window on the screen and close again

Steps to Reproduce (add as many as necessary):

  1. Download new install of brave
  2. Install it
  3. watch it close and be unable to open it
  4. Reinstall
  5. Watch same thing happen

Actual Result: I broke recording software but it just flickers a black window for like a quarter second on the screen

Expected result: it opens the browser

Reproduces how often: every time for me I could probably try my laptop though

Operating System and Brave Version:
brave version v1.76.80 i think
windows 11 23H2 build 22631.4890

Additional Information: it does the same thing on my windows 10 laptop but instead of a black window popping up it like refreshes all the desktop icons however first install it also opened to the new install main page whatever it was for a few seconds

I also checked network logs and see none on my router so i dont think it was blocked or something unless windows did

2

Thank you for the detailed report.
First, can you please try re-running the installer (you can redownload it from brave.com/download if needed), but right-click on it and select Run as administrator? After doing this, try launching again and see if it makes any difference.

If it does not, can you then please try creating a shortcut for the browser on your desktop, then:

  1. Right-click on the shortcut, click Properties
  2. In the Target path, edit the end of it (after the end quote) with --disable-gpu)
  3. Click Apply then Ok
  4. Double-click that shortcut to launch Brave

Let me know if the browser launches as expected.

4
  1. running the installer again as administrator didn’t do anything
  2. disabling gpu on the shortcut also did nothing
  3. restarting my pc let me open the browser again for the first 10 seconds ish before it started closing again
5

@BarkyTron can you please try downloading the Beta build of the browser and test to see if you get the same behavior when you try to launch it?

6

the beta build has the same effect as the full release of the browser just a black window for a bit

7

Hmmm strange. I’ve reached out to some team members about this. In the meantime, I’d like to triple check that this isn’t a graphics acceleration issue (cause it sure seems like one). Can you please return to the shortcut you made for the browser and either delete it or edit it and remove the --disable-gpu flag from the Target path.

Then, we’re going to try the same thing but we’ll try launching from the Windows Terminal.
To do this, simply open Terminal in Windows and type

start brave.exe --disable-gpu

And hit enter. Let me know if this makes any difference for you.

8

Additionally, do you have any anti-virus software installed on your system at this time? If you do, do you see anything Brave related getting blocked/quarantined there?

9

Launching through terminal launches the same black window for a split second also the only antivirus installed on my main pc is windows defender and that says nothing my laptop does have something else but it isn’t active

1 Like
10

Thank you for testing and confirming. Let me do some more digging and I’ll get back to you.

11

Actually – can you try right-clicking on the shortcut again, then Properties --> Compatibility and click the Run compatibility troubleshooter button? Then, if offered, try clicking Try recommended settings and then Test the program and see if the browser launches?

It might also be good to try checking your Windows graphics drivers and ensuring that they are all up to date.

12

the compatibility troubleshooter asked to apply recommended settings and I said yes but it still didn’t change anything

13

And I assume your Windows graphics drivers are all up to date?

14

nvidia gpu drivers are one of the recent versions before 50 series launch everything else is fully updated to my knowledge
specs are
13700k
64GB ddr5 5600mhz
RTX 4080

1 Like
15

Thanks for checking. Will have to wait until we hear back from the team as I’m unclear as to why this is happening.

Out of curiosity, if you download Chrome and try to launch it, do you see the same behavior?

1 Like
16

no I’m using and have been using chrome on all of my devices for years fine wanted to switch browsers for manifest V2 support and this looked like the best option

1 Like
17

any update on this? still happening