Chrome Takes Forever To Open – How To Get It Fixed?

Google Chrome is one of the best browsers available on the internet. Google Chrome is undoubtedly the most used web browser out there.

It is popular among users because of its speed and reliability as it is designed to load quicker than other browsers and efficiently. It is also safer against malware and phishing attacks due to Google’s native virus and malicious application checker tool and its regular security updates.

Chrome is however not perfect, and some errors start popping up here and there. It is a resource-heavy application. The most common issue would be Chrome takes forever to open and performance issues. Many users have reported that opening Chrome takes up a lot of time, and may take up to 15 minutes as well.

Why Is Chrome So Slow On Windows 10?

There are a lot of factors that can result in Chrome taking forever to load on your Windows PC.

A third-party extension that you installed may be interfering with the startup of the Chrome browser. Some extensions are loaded along with the start-up of Chrome, and these extensions can delay the startup of Chrome.

The User Profile that is stored in the installation directory can sometimes be corrupted or changed in a way that leaves the browser inoperable.

A network issue may be interfering with your browser loading.

Fixes For: Chrome Takes Forever To Open

Now that we know what are the potential reasons the browser may be misbehaving, we can deploy some fixes to solve the issue.

# Solution 1: Damaged Extensions Repair

If you started witnessing this error after you installed an extension, it is possible that some broken extension is causing the error you are facing.

To check if that is the case, browse the page you were having the error on using Incognito Browsing mode. Run an Incognito Window by right-clicking on the taskbar icon.

The extensions by default are disabled in this mode, and you can confirm that the error was caused by some broken extension if you don’t face this error anymore in Incognito mode.

Start by enabling the extensions one by one and check if the error persists.

# Solution 2: Fix For User Profile Directory Corruption

If you did not find a broken extension is causing Google Chrome running slow on Windows 10, here is another method you can try to try and fix the error.

The User Profile is stored under the Default folder in Chrome’s installation directory. If for some reason this gets corrupted, the browser can take a lot of time to load and hamper your experience. To solve this error, follow these steps:

Caution: Backup your bookmarks and settings to the Drive, and sync Chrome with your Gmail account. This fix will partially reset Chrome, so create a backup that you can import files from.

1. Close all instances of Google Chrome running on your system.
2. Open a Run You can use the shortcut Win + R.
3. Type the following path to open the destination:
   %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\ 
4. Here, locate the Default folder.

5. Press F2 to rename it. Change the name to something else like “Backups default”.
6. Run Chrome.

Now the user profile library will be created again, and you should see a faster loading time for Chrome.

# Solution 3: Turn Off Hardware Acceleration

If enabled, the hardware acceleration uses computer hardware specially made to perform some functions more efficiently than possible in software running on a general-purpose CPU.

If the hardware is used to smoothen the performance, the resources tangled in doing so can cause a delay in loading times.

There is, unfortunately, no method to turn off Hardware Acceleration in Chrome from outside the app. Follow these steps to disable hardware acceleration in Chrome:

1. Open Google Chrome.
2. Click the hamburger menu (≡).
3. Select Settings.
4. Scroll down and click on Advanced
5. Under the System subsection, locate Hardware Acceleration.
6. Turn the toggle towards Off next to “Use hardware acceleration when available”.

7. Restart your browser.

This should change and reduce the loading time.

# Solution 4: DNS Flush

If still Chrome takes forever to open, there may be an issue with the network adapter that is causing the error.

Some users have reported that resetting the adapter settings and performing a DNS flush has solved the errors. To make these changes, follow these steps:

1. Open an elevated Command Prompt. To do this, open a Run dialog by pressing Win + R and type cmd, press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to launch Command Prompt with administrator privileges.
2. Type the following command to reset the network adapter:
   netsh winsock reset 
3. Restart your system. You can use the following command to restart your system from the same command prompt window:
   shutdown.exe -r

4. Now to flush DNS settings, again open an elevated command prompt.
5. Type the following command and press Enter to flush DNS:
ipconfig /flushdns

Following these, you should be able to have solved the error with Chrome’s increasing loading times.

# Solution 5: Reinstall Chrome

If all other solutions fail, you can try reinstalling Chrome as a last resort. A fresh install will reset all the broken files and settings, and form the data libraries again.

• Uninstall the Chrome application from the Control panel. Then remove the residual files as well. To remove the residual files, you can use a third-party junk file cleaner like CCleaner.
• Then download a fresh copy of the installer from the Google website (link) and run the installer.
• Wait for the installer to finish.

Now check if the issue still persists.

Conclusion

So, there you have it. Now you know how to solve the “Chrome takes forever to open” error using the solutions given above. Do comment below if you found this useful in solving Chrome lagging in Windows 10, and to discuss further the same.