The simplest fix. A restart clears background Chrome processes and refreshes system resources that may prevent Chrome from launching.
On Windows: press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager, find all Chrome entries, and click End Task. On Mac: open Activity Monitor (Cmd+Space → "Activity Monitor"), search for "Chrome", select each process, and click the X button to quit. Then try reopening Chrome.
An outdated Chrome version can cause compatibility issues. Open Chrome if possible and go to chrome://settings/help. If Chrome won't open, download the latest version from google.com/chrome.
Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager. Look for any Chrome processes (chrome.exe, chrome--single-argument.exe, etc.). Select each one and click End Task. Sometimes a crashed Chrome process stays in memory and blocks new instances from starting. After ending all processes, wait 10 seconds and try opening Chrome again.
Right-click the Chrome shortcut on your desktop or taskbar. Select Properties, go to the Compatibility tab, and check Run this program as administrator. Click Apply and then OK. This grants Chrome elevated permissions that may be required to access certain system resources. Note: do this only if Chrome was working normally before — running as admin permanently can pose security risks.
Right-click the Chrome shortcut → Properties → Compatibility tab. Check Run this program in compatibility mode for: and select your Windows version (e.g., Windows 8 or Windows 7). This can resolve issues where newer Windows updates break older Chrome installations. Click Apply and try launching Chrome.
Press Win+R, type msconfig, and press Enter. Go to the Startup tab and click Open Task Manager. Disable any unnecessary startup programs, especially ones that interact with your network or browsers. Restart your computer and try Chrome again.
Security software sometimes quarantines or blocks Chrome files. Open your antivirus program and check the quarantine or threat history. If Chrome files appear there, restore them and add Chrome to the program's exclusion list. For Windows Defender, go to Windows Security → Virus & threat protection → Manage settings → Exclusions and add Chrome.
Chrome stores user data in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data. Press Win+R, type %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data, and press Enter. Rename the Default folder to Default.old — this forces Chrome to create a fresh profile. Try opening Chrome again. If it works, your old profile was corrupted. You can copy files from the old profile to recover bookmarks.
Warning: Editing the registry can cause system issues if done incorrectly. Back up your registry before proceeding.
Press Win+R, type regedit, and press Enter. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Google\Chrome. Look for any entries with unusual values or errors. You can also check HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Google\Chrome. If Chrome entries look corrupted, you can delete the Chrome key under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software — Chrome will recreate it on next launch.
Chrome includes a cleanup tool that removes harmful software. Open chrome://settings/cleanup and click Find. This scans for and removes software that may be interfering with Chrome. After the cleanup completes, restart Chrome.
If all else fails, fully uninstall Chrome first. Go to Settings → Apps → Google Chrome → Uninstall. Also delete the user data folder at %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome and %APPDATA%\Google\Chrome. Then download and install a fresh copy from google.com/chrome. If you're signed into your Google account, your bookmarks and settings will sync automatically after signing in again.
Press Cmd+Option+Esc to open the Force Quit Applications window. Select Google Chrome and click Force Quit. This forcefully terminates any stuck Chrome processes. Alternatively, right-click the Chrome icon in the Dock and select Force Quit.
Open Activity Monitor from Applications → Utilities or use Spotlight (Cmd+Space → "Activity Monitor"). Search for any Chrome-related processes (google chrome, chrome, chromium). Select each and click the X button to quit them all. Wait 5 seconds and try reopening Chrome.
On macOS, Gatekeeper can sometimes block Chrome from opening normally after an update. Control-click (or right-click) the Chrome icon in your Applications folder. Select Open from the menu. A dialog may appear asking if you want to open it — click Open. This bypasses some Gatekeeper restrictions and allows Chrome to run.
Open Finder, press Cmd+Shift+G, type ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome, and press Enter. Rename the Default folder to Default.old. This forces Chrome to create a fresh profile on next launch. If Chrome works with the new profile, your old one was corrupted. You can restore bookmarks by importing from the old profile.
Chrome needs proper file permissions to run. Open System Preferences → Security & Privacy → Privacy. Check if Chrome is listed under Accessibility, Full Disk Access, or other categories. If Chrome is missing or has restricted permissions, click the lock to make changes, add Chrome, and enable the necessary permissions. Restart Chrome after adjusting.
If Chrome still won't open, check Console (in Applications → Utilities) for crash reports. Search for "chrome" in the log. Look for error messages that indicate what went wrong — this can help identify if the issue is a corrupted library, permission denial, or something else. Common errors include "LSQuarantine" messages or "killed" status due to memory pressure.
Drag Google Chrome from the Applications folder to the Trash. Then download a fresh copy from google.com/chrome. Sign in with your Google account to restore synced bookmarks and settings. Make sure your macOS is up to date — an outdated operating system can cause compatibility issues with newer Chrome versions.
Open a terminal and run pkill chrome or pkill -f google-chrome to kill all Chrome processes. Then try launching Chrome again from your application menu.
Chrome stores its profile in ~/.config/google-chrome. Rename this folder to google-chrome.backup using: mv ~/.config/google-chrome ~/.config/google-chrome.backup. Launch Chrome — it will create a fresh profile. If it works, you can manually copy specific files from the backup (like Bookmarks) if needed.
For Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade google-chrome-stable
For Fedora/RHEL: sudo dnf update google-chrome-stable
For Arch: sudo pacman -Syu google-chrome
Chrome depends on various system libraries. If Chrome fails to start, it may be missing dependencies. On Ubuntu/Debian, run: sudo apt install libnss3 libatk1.0-0 libatk-bridge2.0-0 libcups2 libdrm2 libxkbcommon0 libxcomposite1 libxdamage1 libxfixes3 libxrandr2 libgbm1 libasound2
Open a terminal and run google-chrome or /usr/bin/google-chrome. Any error messages will display in the terminal, which can help diagnose the issue. Common Linux errors include missing 32-bit libraries (on 64-bit systems) or sandbox permission issues.