Hello Friends,
It's been awhile since I've darkened your doorstep, I hope you've been well. To the problem at hand...
I have found myself in recent weeks engaged in brutal trench warfare with Edge browser. It is kill or be killed and I am here seeking a weapon to finally destroy this vile demon once and for all. I started writing this post days ago and it became a soap opera novella, as I've been in this battle for some weeks. But I guess it's not necessary to provide you with the full history in dramatized narrative. So let me sum up:
Note: when I wrote the last two sentences I fully intended to write a condensed version of this post. I did not fare well with that intent, although what follows is a fraction of the novella. My apologies...
This old Dell laptop I'm currently using was out of commission for some time, sitting on a shelf gathering dust. I recently got it repaired and set about getting it up to date and back to work. I've been a google chrome user for some time and have been using it as my default browser for I don't know how many years. I even manage to use chrome as my primary browser on my ios devices (iphone and ipad pro) in spite of safari's frequent objections.
So during the Dell's resurrection process it has been my intention to stick with chrome and enjoy the seamless sync it has with chrome for ios (I love having everything immediately and automatically current no matter what device I pick up, bookmarks, history, even currently open tabs). Setting chrome as the default browser on a windows device has always been simple. Set it and forget it and it just works. Well, not anymore.
As you no doubt know, some sick twisted evil genius at Microsoft has gone into the guts of the Windows 10 OS and integrated the Edge browser into it so that Edge is now part of the operating system and no longer an independent app. I learned this the hard way when I tried to make chrome the default and kept seeing Edge opening certain links with no regard for my so called "default browser" settings. Apparently Edge has been given the authority to do what it wants when it wants, regardless of its owners desires.
When I saw this keep happening I became increasingly incensed. Before long I realized that I could set chrome as my default to my hearts content and Edge would simply not respect it. So I decided Edge had to be uninstalled, removed from this laptop. I quickly discovered that Windows 10 design now prohibits this action. All the standard uninstall options in Windows 10 are grayed out or not present for Edge. This discovery only increased my determination and I sought out a tool designed specifically to uninstall Edge from Windows 10.
So I found an uninstall tool that worked, I uninstalled Edge and was jubilant. Edge was out of the picture and chrome and I could live out our lives in peace. Wrong!! In what seemed like moments after being uninstalled, there was Edge back on the screen, giving me the finger with a mischievous grin. What the hell!! (sorry, I can't seem to write this post without getting caught up in the story)
Edge has come back from the grave, laughing in my face. The insidious design of Windows 10 not only acts to prevent Edge from being uninstalled, should it manage to be uninstalled it will immediately and automatically re-install itself. Like a virus. Aaaahhhh!!! Not to be deterred, my resolve only grew stronger. This was now war.
After more research I discovered there are alot of angry people out there just like me and one of them had designed a fix that would prevent Edge from re-installing itself. I couldn't download it fast enough. Once again, I ran the Edge uninstall tool, installed the fix and rebooted. When the laptop was back up I dashed around looking for Edge and sure enough the beast was gone (and remains gone in fact as of the writing of this sentence). Dead and buried finally and I was once again jubilant. I had won the war! I poured a stiff drink and was poised to light a celebratory cigar, when a sudden gust of air came from nowhere and blew out the match.
My happy dance was brought to a screeching halt when I found myself somewhere in settings with cause to click on what looked like an innocent hyperlink. Expecting the relevant web page to appear, Instead, to my intense shock and dismay I was rudely greeted by this abomination:
Those sick twisted people at Microsoft have corrupted the innocent hyperlink! The old hyperlink I've always known, friendly to browsers of all persuasions, they have been corrupted, deliberately designed to be compatible with Edge and only Edge. I could hear the developers laughing with delight. They have designed an escape proof prison. Think you've escaped, think again.
I am rebellious by nature and have particular issues with certain authority figures, and I can tell you, this situation has triggered it, sending me into some kind of madness. At this stage, being forced to crawl into the Microsoft store, beaten into submission, to bow down and re-install Edge, I may lose what remains of my mind, set this laptop on fire and dance around it naked singing John Denver songs until they come and take me away.
At this stage I've pretty much lost the plot. I've become Rambo, hiding in the mountains covered in mud and blood, surviving on wild pig and refusing to be taken alive by that arrogant small town cop, Edge.
For the record, I did try out Edge browser and just didn't like it. I found things about it annoying and went back to chrome, back when I was under the illusion I actually had a choice. Does anyone else here find it repugnant that you can no longer choose your own default browser in Windows 10? I mean, you can, but it's like a token default, the illusion of choice. In the end you will use Edge to open any Windows 10 hyperlink. Like it or not. Chrome will still open some links, mostly only links on a page already open in chrome. But every link across Windows 10 has been twisted and perverted into the so-called "Microsoft Edge Link" and if Edge has been removed from the system as I have done, those links will not open. They will only give you the above error message, telling you to go install Edge (actually it says "you need a new app" but what it is really saying is you need Edge, because those links will not work without Edge). Someone, please tell me you too are outraged by this travesty. I know it's sad but I need some camaraderie.
Also, it's not just Windows 10 hyperlinks that won't work, even some of the simple desktop links I've placed there myself will no longer open in chrome, instead opening to some weird blank white page with the hyperlink text in the upper left corner, like this:
Annoying me to no end!!! I can't even put a hyperlink shortcut on my desktop and have it open in the browser I choose. What the hell are those developers thinking? All they're succeeding in doing is steeling my resolve to jettison Microsoft from my life at the earliest opportunity. But presently finances forbid and I'm stuck with it.
So, brilliant minds here at Tech Support Guy, you have never let me down before... please tell me there is a magic bullet. Some script perhaps that will intercept the command to display that god forsaken error message and instead grab the intended link and redirect it, say to chrome?? Or maybe some means of running Windows 10 in some other mode? Any and all suggestions welcome! (unless it is to acquiesce, to accept it. Hard pass on that.)
Kenny
PS. Thanks for letting me rant... if you think this version is verbose, you should see the other one!! this one is pretty contained I assure you
Tech Support Guy System Info Utility version 1.0.0.9
OS Version: Microsoft Windows 10 Home, 64 bit, Build 19041, Installed 20200821064713.000000-420
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) CPU N3710 @ 1.60GHz, Intel64 Family 6 Model 76 Stepping 4, CPU Count: 4
Total Physical RAM: 4 GB
Graphics Card: Intel(R) HD Graphics, 1024 MB
Hard Drives: C: 454 GB (289 GB Free);
Motherboard: Dell Inc. 0JM95T, ver A00, s/n H4YFXB2.CN7620666J00LQ.
System: Dell Inc., ver DELL - 1072009, s/n H4YFXB2
Antivirus: Windows Defender, Enabled and Updated
It's been awhile since I've darkened your doorstep, I hope you've been well. To the problem at hand...
I have found myself in recent weeks engaged in brutal trench warfare with Edge browser. It is kill or be killed and I am here seeking a weapon to finally destroy this vile demon once and for all. I started writing this post days ago and it became a soap opera novella, as I've been in this battle for some weeks. But I guess it's not necessary to provide you with the full history in dramatized narrative. So let me sum up:
Note: when I wrote the last two sentences I fully intended to write a condensed version of this post. I did not fare well with that intent, although what follows is a fraction of the novella. My apologies...
This old Dell laptop I'm currently using was out of commission for some time, sitting on a shelf gathering dust. I recently got it repaired and set about getting it up to date and back to work. I've been a google chrome user for some time and have been using it as my default browser for I don't know how many years. I even manage to use chrome as my primary browser on my ios devices (iphone and ipad pro) in spite of safari's frequent objections.
So during the Dell's resurrection process it has been my intention to stick with chrome and enjoy the seamless sync it has with chrome for ios (I love having everything immediately and automatically current no matter what device I pick up, bookmarks, history, even currently open tabs). Setting chrome as the default browser on a windows device has always been simple. Set it and forget it and it just works. Well, not anymore.
As you no doubt know, some sick twisted evil genius at Microsoft has gone into the guts of the Windows 10 OS and integrated the Edge browser into it so that Edge is now part of the operating system and no longer an independent app. I learned this the hard way when I tried to make chrome the default and kept seeing Edge opening certain links with no regard for my so called "default browser" settings. Apparently Edge has been given the authority to do what it wants when it wants, regardless of its owners desires.
When I saw this keep happening I became increasingly incensed. Before long I realized that I could set chrome as my default to my hearts content and Edge would simply not respect it. So I decided Edge had to be uninstalled, removed from this laptop. I quickly discovered that Windows 10 design now prohibits this action. All the standard uninstall options in Windows 10 are grayed out or not present for Edge. This discovery only increased my determination and I sought out a tool designed specifically to uninstall Edge from Windows 10.
So I found an uninstall tool that worked, I uninstalled Edge and was jubilant. Edge was out of the picture and chrome and I could live out our lives in peace. Wrong!! In what seemed like moments after being uninstalled, there was Edge back on the screen, giving me the finger with a mischievous grin. What the hell!! (sorry, I can't seem to write this post without getting caught up in the story)
Edge has come back from the grave, laughing in my face. The insidious design of Windows 10 not only acts to prevent Edge from being uninstalled, should it manage to be uninstalled it will immediately and automatically re-install itself. Like a virus. Aaaahhhh!!! Not to be deterred, my resolve only grew stronger. This was now war.
After more research I discovered there are alot of angry people out there just like me and one of them had designed a fix that would prevent Edge from re-installing itself. I couldn't download it fast enough. Once again, I ran the Edge uninstall tool, installed the fix and rebooted. When the laptop was back up I dashed around looking for Edge and sure enough the beast was gone (and remains gone in fact as of the writing of this sentence). Dead and buried finally and I was once again jubilant. I had won the war! I poured a stiff drink and was poised to light a celebratory cigar, when a sudden gust of air came from nowhere and blew out the match.
My happy dance was brought to a screeching halt when I found myself somewhere in settings with cause to click on what looked like an innocent hyperlink. Expecting the relevant web page to appear, Instead, to my intense shock and dismay I was rudely greeted by this abomination:
Those sick twisted people at Microsoft have corrupted the innocent hyperlink! The old hyperlink I've always known, friendly to browsers of all persuasions, they have been corrupted, deliberately designed to be compatible with Edge and only Edge. I could hear the developers laughing with delight. They have designed an escape proof prison. Think you've escaped, think again.
I am rebellious by nature and have particular issues with certain authority figures, and I can tell you, this situation has triggered it, sending me into some kind of madness. At this stage, being forced to crawl into the Microsoft store, beaten into submission, to bow down and re-install Edge, I may lose what remains of my mind, set this laptop on fire and dance around it naked singing John Denver songs until they come and take me away.
At this stage I've pretty much lost the plot. I've become Rambo, hiding in the mountains covered in mud and blood, surviving on wild pig and refusing to be taken alive by that arrogant small town cop, Edge.
For the record, I did try out Edge browser and just didn't like it. I found things about it annoying and went back to chrome, back when I was under the illusion I actually had a choice. Does anyone else here find it repugnant that you can no longer choose your own default browser in Windows 10? I mean, you can, but it's like a token default, the illusion of choice. In the end you will use Edge to open any Windows 10 hyperlink. Like it or not. Chrome will still open some links, mostly only links on a page already open in chrome. But every link across Windows 10 has been twisted and perverted into the so-called "Microsoft Edge Link" and if Edge has been removed from the system as I have done, those links will not open. They will only give you the above error message, telling you to go install Edge (actually it says "you need a new app" but what it is really saying is you need Edge, because those links will not work without Edge). Someone, please tell me you too are outraged by this travesty. I know it's sad but I need some camaraderie.
Also, it's not just Windows 10 hyperlinks that won't work, even some of the simple desktop links I've placed there myself will no longer open in chrome, instead opening to some weird blank white page with the hyperlink text in the upper left corner, like this:
Annoying me to no end!!! I can't even put a hyperlink shortcut on my desktop and have it open in the browser I choose. What the hell are those developers thinking? All they're succeeding in doing is steeling my resolve to jettison Microsoft from my life at the earliest opportunity. But presently finances forbid and I'm stuck with it.
So, brilliant minds here at Tech Support Guy, you have never let me down before... please tell me there is a magic bullet. Some script perhaps that will intercept the command to display that god forsaken error message and instead grab the intended link and redirect it, say to chrome?? Or maybe some means of running Windows 10 in some other mode? Any and all suggestions welcome! (unless it is to acquiesce, to accept it. Hard pass on that.)
Kenny
PS. Thanks for letting me rant... if you think this version is verbose, you should see the other one!! this one is pretty contained I assure you
Tech Support Guy System Info Utility version 1.0.0.9
OS Version: Microsoft Windows 10 Home, 64 bit, Build 19041, Installed 20200821064713.000000-420
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) CPU N3710 @ 1.60GHz, Intel64 Family 6 Model 76 Stepping 4, CPU Count: 4
Total Physical RAM: 4 GB
Graphics Card: Intel(R) HD Graphics, 1024 MB
Hard Drives: C: 454 GB (289 GB Free);
Motherboard: Dell Inc. 0JM95T, ver A00, s/n H4YFXB2.CN7620666J00LQ.
System: Dell Inc., ver DELL - 1072009, s/n H4YFXB2
Antivirus: Windows Defender, Enabled and Updated