Atlas Playbook – Edge Disable Failure & High RAM Usage from Windows Search (25H2)

[Sivatech24]

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🔧 Discussion: Atlas Playbook – Edge Disable Failure & High RAM Usage from Windows Search (25H2)

Hello everyone,

I’m currently facing some issues with the Atlas Playbook on Windows 25H2, especially after the recent playbook updates and Windows updates. I wanted to open this discussion to see if others are facing the same problems and hopefully get some insights.

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1. Edge Disable Script Error (Python / PowerShell)

When running the playbook script to remove or disable Microsoft Edge, I get the following traceback:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "edge.py", line 55, in <module>
  File "subprocess.py", line 472, in check_output
  File "subprocess.py", line 577, in run
subprocess.CalledProcessError: Command '['powershell', '(New-Object System.Security.Principal.NTAccount($env:USERNAME)).Translate([System.Security.Principal.SecurityIdentifier]).Value']' returned non-zero exit status 1.

This PowerShell command fails to translate the user account SID, which breaks the script.
This behavior started after the latest Windows 25H2 update, so it seems something changed in PowerShell or permission handling.

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2. Windows Search (WSearch) Not Disabling Properly + High RAM Usage

The playbook tries to disable Windows Search using:

sc stop "wsearch"
sc config "wsearch" start=disabled

But after recent updates:

• Windows Search service restarts automatically
• Even when disabled, search-related processes run in the background
• RAM usage is higher than previous builds (SearchHost.exe, SearchApp.exe, Indexing processes)

Trying to revert:

sc config "wsearch" start=delayed-auto
sc start "wsearch"

…but the behavior is still inconsistent.

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⚠️ What I’ve Observed

• Atlas Playbook tweaks for Edge and WSearch are no longer fully working on Windows 25H2.
• System services (Search, Web experience, Copilot, Edge components) seem to be auto-healing.
• Windows now forces certain services to run regardless of sc stop or disabling via registry.

This results in:

• Higher RAM usage
• Search processes running even when disabled
• Edge reappearing or not being fully removed
• Script failures during profile application

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❓ Is Anyone Else Seeing This?

I want to know if:

• Other users on Windows 25H2 are experiencing the same WSearch / Edge issues.
• Atlas Playbook contributors are aware of the SID translation error.
• There’s a new recommended method for disabling or controlling Search or Edge.

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📌 System Details

• OS: Windows 25H2
• Issue started after latest Windows cumulative updates + latest Atlas Playbook changes (AtlasPlaybook_v0.5.0-hotfix)
• Edge disable attempts via PowerShell fail
• Windows Search ignoring sc stop and continuing to consume RAM

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❗ Commands I Used After Facing the Error

I encountered the following error while running the Atlas Playbook Edge disable script:

Traceback (most recent call last): 
  File "edge.py", line 55, in <module>
  File "subprocess.py", line 472, in check_output
  File "subprocess.py", line 577, in run
subprocess.CalledProcessError: Command '['powershell', '(New-Object System.Security.Principal.NTAccount($env:USERNAME)).Translate([System.Security.Principal.SecurityIdentifier]).Value']' returned non-zero exit status 1.

To overcome the issue, I used the following commands and methods:

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🛑 Disable Windows Search (WSearch)

sc stop "wsearch"
sc config "wsearch" start=disabled

🔁 Re-enable Windows Search (if required)

sc config "wsearch" start=delayed-auto
sc start "wsearch"

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❌ Force Kill & Remove Microsoft Edge

@echo off
echo Stopping Microsoft Edge processes...
taskkill /F /IM msedge.exe /T

echo Uninstalling Microsoft Edge...
PowerShell -Command "Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Remove-AppxPackage -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue"
PowerShell -Command "Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge.ShellExperienceHost | Remove-AppxPackage -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue"
PowerShell -Command "Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge.Stable | Remove-AppxPackage -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue"

echo Removing Edge folders...
rmdir /s /q "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Edge\User Data"
rmdir /s /q "%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Edge\User Data"
rmdir /s /q "%PROGRAMFILES%\Microsoft\Edge\Application"
rmdir /s /q "%PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\Microsoft\Edge\Application"
rmdir /s /q "%SYSTEMROOT%\SystemApps\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_*"

echo Restarting the computer...
shutdown /r /t 5

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📝 Registry Override Used

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\FeatureManagement\Overrides\8\1694661260]
"EnabledState"=dword:00000001
"EnabledStateOptions"=dword:00000000
"Variant"=dword:00000000
"VariantPayload"=dword:00000000
"VariantPayloadKind"=dword:00000000

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Any help, insights, or temporary workarounds would be appreciated.
Thanks! 🙏

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[Sivatech24]

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❗ Commands I Used After Facing the Error

I encountered the following error while running the Atlas Playbook Edge disable script:

Traceback (most recent call last): 
  File "edge.py", line 55, in <module>
  File "subprocess.py", line 472, in check_output
  File "subprocess.py", line 577, in run
subprocess.CalledProcessError: Command '['powershell', '(New-Object System.Security.Principal.NTAccount($env:USERNAME)).Translate([System.Security.Principal.SecurityIdentifier]).Value']' returned non-zero exit status 1.

To overcome the issue, I used the following commands and methods:

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🛑 Disable Windows Search (WSearch)

sc stop "wsearch"
sc config "wsearch" start=disabled

🔁 Re-enable Windows Search (if required)

sc config "wsearch" start=delayed-auto
sc start "wsearch"

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❌ Force Kill & Remove Microsoft Edge

@echo off
echo Stopping Microsoft Edge processes...
taskkill /F /IM msedge.exe /T

echo Uninstalling Microsoft Edge...
PowerShell -Command "Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Remove-AppxPackage -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue"
PowerShell -Command "Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge.ShellExperienceHost | Remove-AppxPackage -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue"
PowerShell -Command "Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge.Stable | Remove-AppxPackage -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue"

echo Removing Edge folders...
rmdir /s /q "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Edge\User Data"
rmdir /s /q "%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Edge\User Data"
rmdir /s /q "%PROGRAMFILES%\Microsoft\Edge\Application"
rmdir /s /q "%PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\Microsoft\Edge\Application"
rmdir /s /q "%SYSTEMROOT%\SystemApps\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_*"

echo Restarting the computer...
shutdown /r /t 5

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📝 Registry Override Used

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\FeatureManagement\Overrides\8\1694661260]
"EnabledState"=dword:00000001
"EnabledStateOptions"=dword:00000000
"Variant"=dword:00000000
"VariantPayload"=dword:00000000
"VariantPayloadKind"=dword:00000000

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