If you are regularly seeing the “Whoa! Google Chrome has crashed” message, there is likely a problem on your system. An occasional crash can happen, but regular crashes are probably caused by something you can fix.

If you are curious just how often Chrome is crashing, you can type chrome://crashes into your location bar and press Enter to view a list of crashes and when they occurred. This is just one of Chrome’s many hidden chrome:// pages.

Check For Conflicting Software

Some software on your computer can conflict with Google Chrome and cause it to crash. This includes malware and network-related software that interferes with Google Chrome.

Google Chrome has a hidden page that will tell you if any software on your system is known to conflict with Google Chrome. To access it, type chrome://conflicts into Chrome’s address bar and press Enter.



You can also check the Software that crashes Google Chrome page on Google’s website for a list of software that causes Chrome to crash. The page includes instructions for solving conflicts with some conflicting software.

If you have conflicting software on your system, you should update it to the latest version, disable it, or uninstall it. If you are not sure which software a module is related to, try Googling the name of the library.
Scan for Malware

Malware can also interfere with Google Chrome and cause it to crash. If you are encountering regular crashes, you should scan your computer with antivirus software like Microsoft Security Essentials. If you already have antivirus software installed, you may want to get a second opinion from another antivirus program.

Solve Flash Crashes

We have found that the Flash plugin Chrome includes can cause it to crash in some cases. If you are seeing regular Shockwave Flash crashes, you may want to try disabling the internal Flash plugin and using the standard Flash plugin in Google Chrome.

Switch to a New Profile

Chrome crashes may be caused by a corrupted profile. You can test this by creating a new profile from Chrome’s Settings screen. Open the Settings page from Chrome’s menu and click Add new user under Users.

Change to the new profile after creating it and see if the crashes continue to occur. You can sign into Chrome with your Google account to sync the data from your old profile. However, Google recommends you don’t copy any files from the old profile folder by hand – they may be corrupted and causing the problem.

Fix System File Problems

Google recommends running the SFC.EXE /SCANNOW program to check for – and fix – problems with protected system files on your Windows system if you are encountering crashes. To do this, locate the Command Prompt in your Start menu (press the Windows key and type Command Prompt), right-click it, and select Run as Administrator.



Type the following command in the Command Prompt window and press Enter:

SFC.EXE /SCANNOW

Windows will scan your computer for problems with system files sand fix any problems it finds.



Hardware issues can also cause Chrome crashes. You may want to test your computer’s RAM and ensure it isn’t faulty.

Google didn’t announce any shiny new Chromebooks at Google I/O. Instead, they highlighted their two big “platforms” — Chrome and Android. Whether you’re using Windows, Linux, or Mac, Google will be bringing the Chrome OS experience to you.

Chrome has always been Google’s vision of the browser-as-operating-system. They’re about to take it to the next level, using Chrome to provide apps that run outside the browser on desktops and laptops. Google wants to slowly turn your Windows laptop into a Chromebook.
Introducing Packaged Apps

If you have looked in the Chrome Web Store, you’ll know that most current Chrome “apps” are links to websites. For example, the Netflix app is just a link to Netflix, and the Evernote app is a link to Evernote’s website. Install an app, and you’ll get a large icon for it on your new tab page, but that’s about it.

However, Google is about to change the definition of an “app.” This change hasn’t rolled out to everyone yet, but it’s currently on Chrome’s developer channel. Everything currently in the Chrome Web Store will move to the new “Websites” category. The main “Apps” section will only contain new packaged apps.

A packaged app is a web app put into an offline package containing HTML, JS, and other web technologies — but no Flash content. Packaged apps will run entirely offline by default and will sync with the cloud. Packaged apps will even run in their own windows, outside of the browser.

Chrome as a Platform on Your OS

When you install a packaged app, Chrome will offer to display a Chrome OS-like “Chrome App Launcher” on your Windows taskbar. (This works similarly on Mac and Linux, but is currently in development.) This launcher will display your installed packaged apps and allow you to quickly launch them. When you launch one, it will appear in its own window on your desktop, complete with its own taskbar entry.



This acts as a sort of Chrome-only Start menu — Microsoft has removed their Start menu from your Windows taskbar and Chrome wants to take its place. The Chrome Web Store can evolve to function as a sort of app store for cross-platform, offline-enabled web apps that run on every PC operating system.

To clarify the difference between packaged apps and “old” website apps, a shortcut icon will be placed over all the old apps that are just shortcuts to websites.

Example Packaged Apps

You can actually install these packaged apps on the current stable version of Chrome today, assuming you have direct links to the apps — they won’t appear in searches yet. Current packaged apps include an offline text editor with syntax highlighting, a Cut the Rope Game, theAny.DO to-do app, Google Keep note-taking app, and more. These apps all function entirely offline and can sync when you go online. They run in their own and can support touch input, so they could work on a touch-enabled Chromebook or just in Chrome on a touch-enabled Windows laptop.

Use enough packaged apps and your Windows desktop will start to look an awful lot like a Chrome OS system. Packaged apps can use all of Chrome’s advanced browser features, from NaCL for running native code to WebGL for 3D graphics.

Chromebooks in 10 Years

Google is happy to keep selling Chromebooks for schools, businesses, and as second, third, or even fourth devices for people that want a simple web-browsing gadget to play with. But they’re not trying to position the Chromebook against Windows and Mac laptops for everyone — not yet. There’s a reason the Chromebook Pixel’s tagline is “For What’s Next.”

Google wants you to start using packaged apps in preference to desktop and Modern apps. Developers will have an incentive to create these packaged apps because they’ll work on every operating system and they can be created with web technologies — and unlike Microsoft’s Modern apps, they can integrate with the traditional Windows desktop workflow and taskbar.

This gives Chrome users a path for gradually switching to packaged apps that will work on Chrome OS. Google won’t need to care if you’re using a Chromebook — if you’re using a Windows computer and use mostly Chrome packaged apps, they’ll be happy.

As people switch to more and more packaged apps on Windows and Mac, a Chromebook will eventually start to make more sense — why not get a Chromebook once you start using Chrome packaged apps exclusively on your Windows or Mac laptop, anyway? A Chromebook is much more simple, so it’s a no-brainer if you only use packaged apps.



You’ll find packaged apps appearing as the only “Apps” in the Chrome Web Store as soon as this feature reaches Chrome’s stable channel. The websites section will remain, providing a way of discovering web apps.

The largest element on Chrome's redesigned New Tab page -- the Google search bar -- is redundant. If you have gotten into the habit of entering search terms in Chrome's address bar, which Google refers to as the omnibox, then the Google search bar and large Google logo are just taking up space on the New Tab page.

Thankfully, you can return to the old New Tab page, and do so without installing an extension. Here's how:

1. Type or copy and paste chrome://flags into Chrome's omnibox
2. Search for "Enable Instant Extended API"
3. Change its setting from Default or Enabled to Disabled
4. Restart Chrome

Now when you open a new tab, you'll be greeted with the old New Tab page, which displays tiles of your most visited pages or your Chrome apps.

According to this option's description, in addition to bestowing upon you the renovated New Tab page, it also is good for "extracting search query terms in the omnibox, a spruced-up omnibox dropdown and Instant previews of search results as you type in the omnibox." I didn't notice my omnibox behaving any differently after I disabled this API, but if you do or are wary of making such a tweak, I have two extensions for you to try instead.