Isolate GPU-related Chrome crashes, freezes, or startup failures
What to do first
Test extensions and GPU acceleration in sequence. If only one site fails, also investigate the site and network.
This is a general troubleshooting guide, not an announcement of a current outage.
Affected products and symptoms
- Product
- Google Chrome
- Versions and conditions
- Chrome for computer (general Google support procedure; no specific version)
Symptoms
- Chrome crashes
- Chrome freezes
- Chrome does not start
Causes and conditions
Google identifies a possible problem between the computer's hardware and Chrome and recommends disabling hardware acceleration. It does not attribute this to a particular GPU or driver version.
Before you start
- Check Chrome Sync and preserve important tabs
- Record whether the error affects every site or one site
- Record the original settings
Precautions
- Deleting browsing data affects sign-in state and site settings
- Disabling acceleration may reduce video or 3D-rendering performance
Tools and official pages used in this guide
Review Chrome's official crash-isolation procedure and settings path.
Step-by-step instructions
Close all tabs except the failing one, stop downloads and unnecessary apps, and reload. Open the same URL in another browser to distinguish a Chrome problem from a site or connection problem.
Continue if only Chrome fails. If another browser also fails, investigate the site or network.
Use the three-dot menu at the upper right to open the stated pages. Reproduce with the same URL, Chrome profile, zoom level, and video position. Keep the effect of closing tabs and apps separate from the effect of changing settings.
Open Menu > New Incognito window and repeat the page and action. If only a normal window fails, an extension or stored site data may be involved.
Only if needed, open Menu > Delete browsing data and select cookies and cache. Confirm that this may sign you out of sites before proceeding.
Improvement in Incognito points to extensions or stored data. Because deleting cookies signs you out, limit deletion to the affected site and confirm that you can sign in again first.
Open Menu > Extensions > Manage extensions, temporarily disable every extension, and open the same page. If it improves, enable one extension at a time and reload after each change to find the cause.
Re-enable extensions that are not responsible. If there is no improvement, restore the original enabled state and proceed to the GPU check.
Use the switches on Manage extensions rather than editing chrome://extensions directly. Test one at a time, restore unrelated items, and record each name and result.
Open Menu > Settings > System, turn off Use graphics acceleration when available, and select Relaunch when it appears.
Retest with the same video, scrolling action, and page. If it does not improve, turn the switch back on and relaunch. If it improves, install an official GPU-vendor driver update and test again with acceleration enabled.
After changing the GPU switch under Settings > System, select Relaunch. Restore the original value if the same page does not improve; if it does, retest with the switch on after updating the official GPU driver.
Completion criteria: compare another browser with Chrome and confirm a reproduction difference before and after changing extensions or the GPU setting. If unmet, do not repeat the same operation; follow the next branch: undo changes that did not help.
Official links for this step
- Fix Chrome crashes
Review Chrome's official crash-isolation procedure and settings path.
Check before continuingDecision: turn off Use graphics acceleration when available under Menu > Settings > System and select Relaunch. Retest the same content; restore the switch if it does not help, or update the official GPU driver and retest with acceleration enabled if it does.
- Fix Chrome crashes
Check the result
- Results were compared between another browser and Chrome
- Reproduction differs before and after changing an extension or GPU setting
If the problem continues
- Undo changes that did not help
- If another browser also fails, contact the site owner or network administrator
Scope of this guide
Troubleshooting guide — This is Google's general crash-diagnostic procedure, not a resolved incident affecting a specific release.
Frequently asked questions
Does only one site crash?
If the site also fails in another browser, the problem may not be specific to Chrome. Check the site and connection.
Official sources and dates
Source publication or resolution date: Not specified. Sources checked: 2026-09-05. The check date is not the date the problem first occurred. Interface labels can vary between versions and display languages.