If you see one of the following errors when opening Google Chrome, the steps below will help you fix the problem.
If you have this problem, one of four things will happen:
This is usually caused by a corrupt profile, but can also be down to corrupt settings or 'extensions'. Extensions are small programs that can be added to Chrome to customise its appearance or let it do more things.
The fixes listed here need Chrome to be closed completely, with nothing running in the background. We'll show you how to do this, then take you through our recommended fixes in the order you should try them.
Follow these steps to fully close Chrome. You'll need to do this after each fix too.
On a Windows computer:
On an Apple Mac:
Profile errors can often be caused by Google Chrome extensions. Follow these steps to remove them.
Open Google Chrome, dismissing any error messages.
Click Menu (three dots) in the top right corner, and then click Settings.
Click Extensions on the left of the window.
You'll see a list of all the Chrome extensions installed on your computer. Click the dustbin beside each one in turn to remove it, until the list is empty.
Quit Google Chrome fully.
Try opening Chrome again.
This fix is for Windows computers only. If you have a Mac, skip this and go to fix 3.
Click the link to download the Chrome Cleanup Tool.
When it's downloaded, run the tool.
Once the tool finishes, try opening Chrome again.
This will reset Google Chrome to its default settings, but won't delete your data.
Open Google Chrome, dismissing any error messages.
Click Menu (three dots) in the top right corner, and then click Settings.
Scroll to the bottom, and click Show advanced settings.
Scroll down to the bottom of the advanced settings, and click Reset Settings.
Click the Reset button to confirm.
When this has finished, close Chrome completely then restart it.
A profile is created when any user signs into Chrome. Removing a profile will also remove that user's saved passwords, bookmarks and history.
Open Google Chrome, dismissing any error messages.
Click Menu (three dots) in the top right corner, and then click Settings.
In the People section you'll find a list of profiles. Click one to highlight it, then click the Remove button, and repeat this for each user profile listed.
Quit Chrome completely, then restart it.
You might have to remove the default user profile, which will remove all user settings. To do this:
Go to the Chrome User Data folder:
When the folder opens, right click on the Default folder, and click Rename. Change the name to Backup Default. This will make Chrome create a new Default profile and ignore the old one.
Close this folder, then open Chrome again.
As Chrome is now using a brand new profile, it should open correctly.
Hopefully, this is all the help you need. But if the problem still isn’t fixed, click here to get in touch with someone from Team Knowhow.
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