TEdgeBrowser Stopped Working

[HaroldHalbleib 0]

I created TestBrowser.exe using a TEdgeBrowser with Delphi 11 and tested it successfully on Windows 10 and 11 computers.  A couple weeks later the TEdgeBrowser quit working on Windows 11, it says "Failed to create Edge browser control".  There were no changes to the compiled EXE.

 

I tried switching to TWebBrowser control with EdgeOnly parameter, but it too fails on this Windows 11 computer.  I tried to install MicrosoftEdgeWebview2Setup again and tried to update that from the Control panel, but nothing works.  The control is always invisible in the running EXE.

 

If I select Internet Explorer option in TWebBrowser control and rebuild the EXE, then the control is visible and works.

 

Any suggestions on how to get the Edge runtime to work again.
 

[Guest]

the DLL from EdgeBrowser can be seen for your Exe?

[Der schöne Günther 316]

The WebView2 runtime is already included in Windows 11.

Can you reproduce your issue in a clean VM?

[Brandon Staggs 277]

Is the appropriate bitness WebView2Loader.dll in the search path? While the runtime may be on the system, any application that wants to use it needs to include WebView2Loader.dll and there is a 32- and 64- bit version of that dll.

[HaroldHalbleib 0]

Using Delphi 11 Update 1, I built a Windows EXE that uses TWebBrowser with SelectedEngine EdgeOnly. I install a fixed known version of 32-bit WebView2.  My 32-bit EXE with 32-bit WebView2Loader.dll in the same folder runs fine on Windows 7, 10 and 11.

 

I install a fixed known version of 64-bit WebView2.  My 64-bit EXE with 64-bit WebView2Loader.dll in the same folder runs fine on Windows 7, 10 and 11.  It gives an empty browser window on a newer Windows 11 computer.  I have uninstalled, reinstalled and repeated this procedure many times with the same result.

 

On the new Windows 11 computer after a couple weeks, 32-bit WebView2 quits working (every URL presents a blank screen in Window using WebView2. 

 

The only known solution is to kill all instances of MS Edge WebView2 with Task manager and physically remove the Microsoft folder from Program Files (x86) that contains Edge.  For some reason there are multiple instances of Edge and WebView2 running and when you kill them they often auto-restart.  It takes many attempts to get them all killed so you can delete the Edge installation folders.  Why is there no Uninstall for Edge from control panel?

 

Over the last few months I have had to physically remove Edge about every 2 weeks to keep WebView2 working on the new Windows 11 computer.  WebView2 continues to work when I reinstall Edge for a week or two, but then it goes blank again.  As soon as you remove Edge, WebView2 works again.

 

To summarize hundreds of tests over the course of several months, 32-bit and 64-bit WebView2 works fine on all Windows 7, 10 and 11 computers I have tested.  On a specific new Windows 11 computer with solid state drive, 64-bit WebView2 never works and 32-bit WebView2 stops working after a week or so if Edge is installed/used on that computer.

 

Are there any known solutions?