Microsoft Edge closed window, unable to restore by no means

MHZ 0 Reputation points
2026-05-29T20:37:13.05+00:00

Windows 11, system hanged, had to restart, 80+ tabs on Edge gone within seconds. Obviously first thing I tried was Ctrl+Shift+T but it opened random tabs ( and only worked a few times, after that it didn't do anything every time I tapped it ) that were not even from Edge but Chrome, and to make things worse, I am not even logged onto my Google Account on Chrome and the data import from Chrome has been disabled for a year and has remained so ! So, only a few random tabs - none of which from the now closed window - got opened with Ctrl+Shift+T, and no sign of the closed tabs in the "recently closed tabs" section of Edge either. The History section too includes all sorts of my recent searches on Chrome, and again, nothing of the closed tabs on Edge.

Obviously this has not been the first time my system was shut down and / or restarted ( even the hard way ) during the past few months ( most of those tabs were 6+ months old ); but this problem has never happened and I have always been able to restore my tabs ( window ) properly. So I do know what I'm doing. This is some serious problem not like before.

Microsoft Edge | Favorites, history, and downloads | Windows 11
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  1. Emma1-N 8,465 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-05-30T01:11:32.3766667+00:00

    Welcome MHZ,

    I understand how frustrating it can be after a system hang and forced restart, your Microsoft Edge window with 80+ tabs could not be restored, and recovery options like Ctrl+Shift+T and recently closed tabs are not showing the expected results. 

    Before we proceed, I’d like to clarify a couple of things to better narrow this down: 

    • Were you using a regular window, or was it an InPrivate window when the issue occurred? 
    • Is Sync in Edge turned on for your profile (history and open tabs), or was it disabled? 

    In the meantime, you can try the workaround steps below to troubleshoot the issue:  

    Option 1: Check full browsing history for older sessions  

    • Open Edge 
    • Press Ctrl + H 
    • Scroll manually through history or search keywords from previously opened tabs 

    Option 2: Try reopening closed window from menu  

    • Open Edge > History 
    • Look for “Recently closed” and check if a full window entry appears 

    Option 3: Check Edge session recovery files  

    • Close Edge completely 
    • Press Windows key + R 
    • Paste: %localappdata%\Microsoft\Edge\User Data\Default\Sessions 
    • Look for files named “Session” or “Tabs” with recent timestamps 
    • Copy them to a safe location before opening Edge again 

    Option 4: Check system restore points (if available)  

    • Search for “Create a restore point” from the Start menu 
    • Check if a restore point exists prior to the crash 
    • Review if restoring system settings may bring back session-related files 

    I hope the steps above help you deal with your issue.  

    P.S: If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".      

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  2. MHZ 0 Reputation points
    2026-07-02T10:31:47.22+00:00

    I am so sorry, I wasn't notified of your answer immediately and just saw the E-mail.

    Yes, it was a regular window, and yes, sync was on for Edge, but import data from Chrome was not. Checking full history and looking for any chance of having a "recently closed window" was the first thing I did, but there was not an entry for it, and in the full history, instead of showing me the most recent sessions that were closed, it showed me quite older sessions not even from Edge; as if my tabs had somehow disappeared. Considering I wasn't logged in to my Google Account on Chrome at the time, I was very surprised.

    Unfortunately, it's too late to try Option 3; but if such problems arise next time ( I hope they don't ) I'll surely try that as well.

    But one of the most surprising parts of what happened was that, as I said, it wasn't the first time I had been dealing with crashes or forced restarts and all that, but always before, I was easily able to restore my window / tabs. I don't know what happened this time specifically. Even this time, Chrome restored as always, Edge didn't.

    Anyway, thank you very much for your response and care.

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