Fix Vivaldi That Does Not Open

jeremyyellow

How to Fix Your Vivaldi Browser That Does Not Open

User profiles in Vivaldi can become corrupt and cause various issues, including preventing the browser from opening.

Testing the browser with a different profile is a quick way to see if a corrupt profile is the culprit.

Here’s how you do it:

Navigate to Vivaldi’s user data directory. On Windows, this is usually located at C:\Users<Your Username>\AppData\Local\Vivaldi\User Data. On Mac, you can find it at ~/Library/Application Support/Vivaldi/Default.
Once there, rename the Default folder to something like Default_Backup. This is a backup in case you need to restore your old profile.
Now, try opening Vivaldi. It will automatically create a new Default folder and a fresh user profile.

//Modedit: restored post. Since this topic now has more replies, it is confusing to users to just delete first post.

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ModEdit: Title

Aaron

and you can find it by click menu->help

for Linux:
~/.config/vivaldi-snapshot/Default/

for Android(need root):
/data/data/com.vivaldi.browser.snapshot/app_chrome/Default/

RLindaS

This post was deleted but I actually need the answer to this question. Vivaldi won't open after I restarted my computer. I am on Windows 10.

Hadden89

@RLindaS

On vivaldi icon > right click > Open Location folder to enter into the vivaldi\application folder;
go to \vivaldi and navigate to \User Data\Default\Sessions.
Remove the files which starts with Tabs_.

If the profile is not badly damaged, this should be sufficent.

RLindaS

@Hadden89 Thank you for responding. But where do I enter vivaldi://about/? I put it in the search bar and only got a web listing for the composer--or the offer to search for apps in the microsoft store!

Hadden89

@RLindaS I rewrote the steps above to be more easier to follow, try again

RLindaS

@Hadden89 Sorry to bother you again! When I go to file location, these are the options: Can you see this image?

Hadden89

@RLindaS I see it. Then push here on top:

Open User Data Folder:

Then Default:

Scroll down for Session Folder

And remove the tab files (all you can find them):

Try restarting vivaldi once you done.

RLindaS

@Hadden89 OK--I'll try it. I assume I'll lose all my tabs?

Pathduck

@RLindaS That's a System/All Users install, note the presence of the sys.viv file . Hadden's instruction won't work.

Use the Vivaldi Menu > Help > About.
Find your Profile Path there. Copy and paste that path into explorer to find the Sessions folder.
By default for an All Users install, the profile path is usually at:
c:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Vivaldi\User Data\Default

Also - VERY IMPORTANT: Update your browser, 6.1 is ancient, we're on 6.4 now. Since you can't launch it to start the update, you can download and update.
https://vivaldi.com/download/
Or fix the launch problem first, then update from Help > Check for updates.

@Hadden89 You should always take into account users might've chosen to install differently

RLindaS

@Pathduck Thanks. If I update, will I lose all my tabs?

Hadden89

@Pathduck But the default location path of exe shortcut will go to the chosen type of install: system wide, current user or standalone. The folder structure is actually the same.
The point is can't open vivaldi, so won't see the menu but yeah, upgrading may help.

@RLindaS try the update before. With the update there are chances to preserve the tabs. With the steps above, no. Keep us updated.

Pathduck

@Hadden89 said in How to Fix Your Vivaldi Browser That Does Not Open:

But the default location path of shortcuts should point to any type of install: system wide, current user or standalone. The folder structure is the same.

The shortcut would point to the program location which is not located at the same place as the profile for an All Users install. For this install, the program is (usually) in Program Files, while the profile is in the user's AppData folder.

The point is can't open vivaldi, so won't see the menu

Yeah, that's a good point forgot about that
I included the default profile location for completeness now.

@RLindaS Yes you will lose tabs. Small loss for a working browser again. Learn to save sessions if these things are important to you:
https://help.vivaldi.com/desktop/tabs/session-management/

RLindaS

@Hadden89 Thanks! Updating the browser worked! Vivaldi came back up, along with all my tabs! Yay! I really appreciate all your time.

RLindaS

@Pathduck I tried to thank you both at the same time but it got flagged as spam. Updating worked!

Hadden89

@Pathduck still a bit confusing to me, because I only install apps for current user in my work machine where I can only install software in that way (or as standalone/portable, of course). Otherwise most things goes in program files. (so user folder is now the vivaldi default?)

Gotta have to add a note for this, I guess:
C:\Users\%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Vivaldi\User Data\Default
And this
C:\%programfiles%\Vivaldi\User Data\Default

Pathduck

@RLindaS Great

Remember to go into Settings > General and enable the automatic updates. Way too easy to forget checking for updates.

Or get into the habit of doing Help Menu > Check for updates weekly or so.

@Hadden89 Yes, Current User installs are simple, because they don't require admin rights to install in AppData. Looks like you have a Standalone install though (C:\Vivaldi).

An All Users install will usually be in Program Files, but I have it in D:\bin\Vivaldi 'cause that's how I roll - but I still prefer the profile to be in my user's data folder

Pet Peeve: Some versions ago they removed the ability to choose where an All Users install should go. That sucks for me of course, fortunately I've not had to do a complete reinstall for several years (backups!)

Apparently the reason for the change was "security".
Security be damned, I want options not hand-holding

Pathduck

@Hadden89 said in How to Fix Your Vivaldi Browser That Does Not Open:

C:\Users%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Vivaldi\User Data\Default
C:%programfiles%\Vivaldi\User Data\Default

Ah, see now you're grinding an old Windows cmd user's gears

λ echo C:\Users\%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Vivaldi\User Data\Default
C:\Users\C:\Users\Stian\AppData\Local\Vivaldi\User Data\Default

λ echo C:%programfiles%\Vivaldi\User Data\Default
C:C:\Program Files\Vivaldi\User Data\Default

So that's going to end badly

The better way would be:

λ echo "%localappdata%\Vivaldi\User Data\Default"
"C:\Users\Stian\AppData\Local\Vivaldi\User Data\Default"

λ echo "%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Vivaldi\User Data\Default"
"C:\Users\Stian\AppData\Local\Vivaldi\User Data\Default"

λ echo "%programfiles%\Vivaldi"
"C:\Program Files\Vivaldi"

Remember to use quotes if you're actually going to do any scripting with these vars - bloody Windows paths

Sketch3D

I have 6.6 on Windows 11, I updated because 6.4 stopped launching. I uninstalled 6.4, installed 6.6. When it still did not work I uninstalled and reinstalled twice. Then found this thread, followed the advised fix and 6.6 still will not launch.

remerson

@Pathduck said in How to Fix Your Vivaldi Browser That Does Not Open:

@RLindaS Yes you will lose tabs. Small loss for a working browser again. Learn to save sessions if these things are important to you:
https://help.vivaldi.com/desktop/tabs/session-management/

Session management doesn't really help if the Sessions folder is so broken that Vivaldi won't start. That's my situation, so I've had to move away the whole 'Sessions' folder.

Is there any way to import an old session that isn't in the current (new) Sessions folder? Otherwise I've lost a 650+ tab session