How to Fix Google Chrome Slow Start-Up
Chrome taking forever to open on Windows 10? Find out how you can fix that
Google Chrome is the most popular web browser in the world. As of March 2021, Chrome holds close to 64% of the browser market share worldwide. Given Chrome’s reputation for being the world’s fastest web browser, its popularity doesn’t surprise anyone. Nevertheless, this browser still has issues, and one of them is when it takes forever to load on Windows 10. This article will provide you with answers on why that is, along with possible solutions for fixing it.
Google Chrome features a minimalistic user interface, including merging the address bar and the search bar into the Omnibox.
Chrome also allows users to synchronize their bookmarks, browsing history, and browser settings across all devices where they installed the browser via their chosen Google account, which updates all signed-in instances of Chrome.
Moreover, Chrome retrieves updates of two blacklists and warns users when they try to access a potentially malicious website.
Similar to most of its competitors, Chrome uses DNS prefetching to speed up website hookup. Many benchmarks have shown time and time again that Chrome is generally faster than the competition. Still, due to different system configurations and problems directly related to Chrome, the browser may take a long time to load.
Many users have complained about the browser that prides itself on being the fastest in the world, becoming slow to load when opened. In more extreme cases, the browser may take anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes to load up. Chrome may become sluggish due to several reasons that we want to go over.
Today, Chrome has little in common with the browser that launched in 2008. It has gone over several significant changes to its internal architecture. Most don’t know it, but today the browser uses RAM like crazy to maintain its quick loading times and overall fast performance. The more tabs you have opened at one time, the more RAM it will consume, making your PC run slower, but that has nothing to do with how long Chrome takes to load after clicking its shortcut.
So what causes Google Chrome to take forever to load up? It’s been generally accepted that Google Chrome may considerably slow down due to three reasons: Hardware acceleration, third-party extensions, and a folder named “Default” in the Google Chrome directory.
Hardware Acceleration. Google Chrome comes with a hardware acceleration feature that takes advantage of your computer’s GPU to speed up processes and free up the CPU. However, in some cases, incompatible drivers cause this feature to run incorrectly, causing Chrome to slow down. So, it’s recommended to disable hardware acceleration to fix the slow loading issue.
Third-party extensions. If your PC is hogging a lot of your computer’s resources, namely RAM and CPU, and slowing down Chrome as a result, then this might be due to either many open tabs or extensions. Many users fail to realize that accumulating many extensions on Chrome can have a negative effect on the browser’s performance. Therefore, it’s recommended to disable most or even all extensions to see if that has any impact on Chrome’s loading times.
A folder named “Default” in the Google Chrome directory. The Default folder found in the Chrome directory is used to store your user profile, which contains your settings, extensions, and so on. Each time you sync your Chrome account on a different computer, the browser downloads the Default folder along with its contents to that computer.
Some users have reported that a folder named “Default in Chrome’s installation directory can cause the browser to load slowly. The solution is to rename the Default folder to make Chrome create a new folder, and the browser should go back to working normally.
Chrome is one of the best web browsers today, and while it has stiff competition, it’s still the most popular web browser in the world. Like any software, Chrome has its issues, but they can be resolved if you know how to do that. We have compiled several step-by-step guides that will hopefully help you fix Chrome’s atrocious loading times.
Table of Contents:
- Introduction
- Solution 1. Turn off Hardware Acceleration
- Solution 2. Clear Cache and Memory Storage
- Solution 3. Disable Extensions
- Solution 4. Rename the Default Folder
- Solution 5. Reset the Network Adapter
- Video instructions on how to fix Google Chrome slow start-up
Solution 1. Turn off Hardware Acceleration
The hardware acceleration feature in Chrome was designed to use your computer’s GPU to perform specific tasks to free up the CPU. However, depending on the system, it can have the opposite effect causing Chrome to load a long time when trying to run it. We recommend disabling hardware acceleration.
1. Open Google Chrome.
2. At the top-right corner, click More and click Settings.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the window and click Advanced.
4. Then, scroll down to the System section.
5. Toggle off the slider next to Use hardware acceleration when available.
6. Click Relaunch.
Solution 2. Clear Cache and Memory Storage
Browser caching is used to improve the browsing speeds of the websites you visit the most. However, if your browser’s cache gets stuffed with obsolete items, this may cause the browser to load up slowly. Therefore, clearing the cache can have a positive effect on Chrome’s load-up times.
1. Open Google Chrome.
2. At the top-right corner, click More and click Settings.
3. Go to the Privacy and security section and click Clear browsing data.
4. Select Advanced.
5. Then, open the Time range drop-down menu and select All time.
6. Then, tick all of the options except Password and sign-in data.
You might want to keep your Passwords and sign-in data, so we don’t recommend selecting it.
7. Click Clear Data.
Solution 3. Disable Extensions
Browser extensions may take a while to load, thus slowing down Chrome’s start-up. You may significantly improve Chrome’s load-up times by identifying and disabling extensions that are holding it back.
1. Open the browser.
2. At the top-right corner, click More and click More tools.
3. Then, click Extensions.
4. Select an extension.
5. Then, toggle the slider off to disable the extension.
Solution 4. Rename the Default Folder
All of your settings and extensions are stored in the Default folder. You can rename the folder to keep it as a backup, and Chrome will create a new default folder wiping the slate clean. Many users have found this method to speed up Chrome’s load-up times.
1. Open the Start menu, type in File Explorer, and click the result.
2. In the File Explorer’s address bar, type in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data and hit Enter.
3. Find the folder named Default.
4. Right-click the folder and click Rename.
5. Rename it to Default.old and save the new name.
Solution 5. Reset the Network Adapter
The network adapter may act up, causing connection issues with Chrome, so to fix this issue, you can reset your network adapter using Command prompt.
1. Hold down Windows+R keys to open Run.
2. Type in CMD and hold down Ctrl+Shift+Enter keys to open Command prompt as administrator.
3. In the Command prompt window, type in netsh winsock reset, and hit the Enter key.
4. Restart your computer.
Video instructions on how to fix Google Chrome slow start-up
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