Fixing “Couldn’t open PDF in Edge, Something’s keeping this PDF from the opening” Error in Windows 10

As you know, Microsoft Edge is the default web browser in Windows 10 operating system. It is a built-in browser that replaced the ancient Internet Explorer for its performance and features. Aside from being the default web browser, it is also set as a default PDF viewer in Windows 10. So if you open a PDF file, it will be automatically opened in the Edge browser even if you have installed a PDF reader in your computer. However, some users recently reported getting an error that says, “Couldn’t open PDF in Edge, Something’s keeping this PDF from the opening” when they tried to open a PDF file or view an internet link that has a downloadable PDF file in the Edge browser. If you are one of these users, read on as this post will help you troubleshoot the problem and fix it.

This kind of error mostly occurs if you have installed other PDF viewers in your computer. They could be interrupting Edge while it tries to open the PDF documents. To fix it, check if Microsoft Edge is set as the default PDF viewer or you could also try to clear its browsing cache. In addition, you could also reset or repair Edge. For detailed instructions, refer to the given options below.

The first thing you can do is to check if Edge is set as the default PDF viewer. If it’s not, you have to set it as one to fix the problem.

• Open Control Panel and go to Default Programs.
• Then click on the “Associate a file type or protocol with a program” option.

• Next, select the PDF file option and click on Change program.

• After that, select Microsoft Edge in the pop-up window and then select the “Always use this app to open .pdf” option.
• Now click the OK button to set Edge as the default PDF viewer and then check if you can now open the PDF file in the Edge browser.

• Open Microsoft Edge.
• Then click on the three horizontal dots to open the menu.
• From there, click on Settings. And under Settings, click the “Choose what to clear” button under the Clear browsing data section.
• Next, check all the checkboxes and then click the Clear button to clear the browsing data in the Edge browser.
• Restart Edge.

You can reset, repair or reinstall the Edge browser through Settings.

If none of it helped, you can try the following:

• Open File Explorer and then go to this path – C:UsersYourUsernameAppDataLocalPackages

Note: Before you type in the path in the Address bar, make sure that you put your user account name in place with the “YourUsername”.

• Tap Enter to proceed.
• Next, look for the folder named “MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe” then right click on it.
• Click on Properties and uncheck the option “Read-only” under the General tab in the Properties window.

• Click on Apply and then OK to save the changes made.
• After that, look for the MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe folder again and delete it. And if a prompt stating “Folder Access Denied” appears on your screen, just click on the Continue button to proceed – doing so will delete most of the content inside the folder except for the folder named “AC”.
• Restart your PC.
• Now all you have to do is to re-register Microsoft Edge using PowerShell. In the Start Menu, search “Windows PowerShell”.
• Right click on Windows PowerShell from the search results and select the “Run as administrator” option.
• Type in this command in the PowerShell windows and tap Enter – Cd C:UsersYourUsername

Note: Once again, make sure that you key in your user account name in place of “YourUsername.

• After that, type in this command and tap Enter – Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)AppXManifest.xml” -Verbose}

• Restart your PC.

And that’s about it, you should now be able to open PDF documents in the Microsoft Edge browser without any trouble. If you are currently experiencing other issues aside this one, there is a one-click solution known as Restoro you can use. This program is a useful tool that could repair corrupted registries and optimize your PC’s overall performance. Aside from that, it also cleans out your computer for any junk or corrupted files that help you eliminate any unwanted files from your system. This is basically a solution that’s within your grasp with just a click. It’s easy to use as it is user-friendly. For complete set of instructions in downloading and using it, refer to the steps below.

Perform a full system scan using Restoro. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Turn on your computer. If it’s already on, you have to reboot

2. After that, the BIOS screen will be displayed, but if Windows pops up instead, reboot your computer and try again. Once you’re on the BIOS screen, repeat pressing F8, by doing so the Advanced Option shows up.

3. To navigate the Advanced Option use the arrow keys and select Safe Mode with Networking then hit

4. Windows will now load the Safe Mode with Networking.

5. Press and hold both R key and Windows key.

6. If done correctly, the Windows Run Box will show up.

7. Type in the URL address in the Run dialog box and then tap Enter or click OK.

8. After that, it will download the program. Wait for the download to finish and then open the launcher to install the program.

9. Once the installation process is completed, run Restoro to perform a full system scan.

10. After the scan is completed click the “Fix, Clean & Optimize Now” button.