You are probably here because all of sudden Google Chrome won’t open on your Windows 10 PC. It is a common issue where chrome stops working and won’t open after you double-click on its icon. No need to worry as there are ways to solve this issue, however, we will never suggest you to uninstall Chrome unless there is some serious issue. Many reasons can cause this problem but the major reasons are corrupted user files and harmful software.
Don’t go big at first. Instead, try to go with simpler solutions and if the problem still exits then you may opt for the bigger solutions.
1. Restart Computer
Well, the very first and the basic thing that you need to do is to restart your computer if you haven’t already. Hopefully, Chrome will open when you reboot your computer.
2. Set the Right Date and Time
Another quick fix is to check your computer’s date and time. If the date and time are not correctly set, you need to correct them. To do this simply right-click on time and date on the taskbar and then click on adjust date/time.
Enable both the toggles to set time automatically. Then press, Sync now.
3. Reset your System Network
Try to reset your network on Windows 10 to check if it solves the problem.
Step 1: Go to the settings by pressing Windows key + I, now go to the Network & internet. Where the Status ends, you will find an option named Network reset. Click here.
Step 2: Restart your computer.
Your problem will be solved if it was linked to the network.
4. Change Compatibility Settings
You need to change a few compatibility settings that might run Chrome.
Step 1: Right-click on the Chrome icon to see options. Select Properties.
Step 2: Choose the Compatibility tab from this window and then click on Change settings for all users.
Step 3: Now, click on Run compatibility troubleshooter and see if Chrome is working.
Step 4: If you get the same results, then choose Windows 8 under the compatibility mode and Hit OK and Apply.
Step5: If you are still not able to run the chrome then mark check in the boxes next to Disable fullscreen optimizations and Register this program for restart.
5. Rename Chrome and create Shortcut
Step 1: Press Windows key + E that will launch a File Explorer window. Then, navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application.
Step 2: Here you will see a chrome or chrome.exe icon. Rename it by right-click. Type a new name that can be anything that you would like to replace it with. Let’s assume it to be “chrome.x”.
Step 3: Now, right-click again on this newly named icon and then click on Send to and then Desktop (create shortcut).
Step 4: Go to the desktop and right-click on the shortcut chrome.x just created. Now, click on Rename and rename it to ‘chrome’. Don’t forget to delete the old chrome shortcut if available.
Step 5: Restart the PC and then double click on the chrome-Shortcut to open it on your computer.
Hopefully, it will open without any trouble.
Also, replace the already pinned Google Chrome icon from the taskbar with the new ‘chrome’ icon. Unpin the old one by right-clicking on the icon on the taskbar and then click Unpin from taskbar. Double-click on the new shortcut icon to launch it and then click on its icon in the taskbar and click Pin to taskbar.
6. Disable Hide Taskbar
A quick fix is to disable the hide taskbar automatically function. It might be the reason that is causing trouble for Chrome. Go to the Settings>Personalization>Taskbar. Here, disable the toggle under Automatically hide the taskbar in desktop mode. This might work for you.
7. Built-in Virus Detector to check for any Virus
To check if there is any virus or malware, you may use Google Chrome’s own built-in virus and malware detector. Follow the given steps to solve your problem:
Step 1: At first, open Google Chrome and type in or copy-paste the given line in the address bar of your chrome and press Enter.
chrome://settings/cleanup
Step 2: In this window, click on the Find that is next to Find harmful software.
Google Chrome will automatically check if there is any harmful software containing a virus on your system. Re-launch Chrome to check if the problem has been solved.
8. Delete the user profile and reset Chrome
This problem can also be caused by a corrupted user profile. Deleting the profile might do the trick.
Step 1: Press Windows key + R and a run window will appear on the screen. Copy-paste the following line in the Run window and then press enter to open the user data folder.
%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data
Step 2: Now you need to scroll down to find out the Default folder, then right-click on it and go to Copy.
Step 3: Now, head towards your hard drive storage and press Ctrl + V to paste the copied folder on any specific location on the hard drive.
This process may take some time to complete and don’t forget that this will be the backup of the original folder.
Step 4: After this, head back to the Default folder and right-click on it to Delete the folder from your computer.
Now you need to reset your Chrome but at first restart it, once it restarts, follow these steps:
Step 5: Launch Google Chrome window and copy-paste the following line in the address bar
chrome://settings/resetProfileSettings
Step 6: When you press Enter, a settings window will appear. Click on Reset settings to reset Google Chrome.
After resetting, you can now check that Chrome is working without any error.