Google Chrome is a popular browser, and even Microsoft recently announced that they will be moving Microsoft Edge browser to the Chromium web platform, which ultimately powers Google Chrome. However, some users – and even I have noticed it – report that the Chrome browser starts automatically when Windows 11/10 PC boots. If you face this issue, there are a few suggestions that can help you resolve this problem. These suggestions also apply if Chrome is reloading tabs from the last session on startup.
Stop Chrome from opening automatically when PC boots
We will be taking a look at the following 5 fixes to try to fix this issue.
- Prevent Google Chrome from running the background
- Disable ‘Continue where you left off’
- Fix the Google Hangouts Extension
- Disable Fast Tab or Fast Windows Close Flag
- Reset Google Chrome.
Before you begin, make sure that Chrome is not set to Startup automatically when Windows starts. You may use a Startup Manager app to stop apps from opening at startup. You may also want to check if Windows 10 is set to open programs after a restart.
1] Prevent Google Chrome from running in the background
Start by launching the Google Chrome browser. Now, click on the menu button on the top right corner, and from the drop-down, select Settings.
Scroll all the way down and click on the button named Advanced.
Under the Section of System, Turn off the toggle for Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed.
RestartGoogle Chrome and check if that fixes your issues.
2] Disable ‘Continue where you left off’
Launch Google Chrome browser. Now, click on the menu button on the top right corner, and from the drop-down, select Settings.
Scroll all the way down and click on the section named On startup.
Select the radio button labeled as Open a specific page or set of pages.
Just make sure that there are no pages listed in that section but if you do, make sure you remove them all.
3] Fix the Google Hangouts extension
If you have the Google Hangouts extension installed on your Google Chrome browser, it might be a cause for the issue mentioned above.
You can try to turn off, remove and reinstall Google Hangouts from your Google Chrome Browser and check if that fixes your issue.
4] Disable Fast Tab or Fast Windows Close Flag
Type in chrome://flags/#enable-fast-unload in the Chrome address bar and hit Enter.
You will enter the experimental features page for Google Chrome.
Set it to Disabled.
Restart Google Chrome and check if your issue is now fixed or not.
5] Reset Google Chrome
Hit the WINKEY + R combinations to open Run and then navigate to the following path,
%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data
Now, select the folder named Default and hit the Shift+Delete button combinations, and then click on Yes for the confirmation prompt you get.
After deleting the Default folder, open Google Chrome and click on the Menu button denoted by three verticle dots in the top right corner.
Then, click on Settings. In the Settings section, scroll down and click on Advanced to reveal the Advanced Settings.
Now, please scroll down to the Restore Settings to their original defaults button and click on it.
This will now give you a prompt like this-
Click on Reset, and this will reset the Chrome browser.
Now check if your issue is fixed or not.
I hope something helps!
How do I stop applications from opening on startup?
The easiest way to remove an application from Windows Startup is using the Task Manager. Use Ctrl + Shift + Eac to open Task Manager. Then switch to the Startup tab, and locate your application. Finally, right-click on it, and choose to disable it.
Why is Chrome slow on Startup?
If Chrome is taking a lot of time when you launch it, then it’s probably because of the extension. You can check which extension is causing the problem by first disabling all the extensions, and then turning them on one by one. As some extensions keep running in the background, they may cause high CPU usage as well.
How do I speed up my Chrome browser?
if the extensions are not a problem, they may want to check on the number of tabs that open when you launch Chrome. While Chrome supports sleeping tabs, but they would still consume some resources. It is always a good idea to keep the tabs number low.
However, if you cannot, they make sure to check the Sleeping Tabs feature is enabled in Chrome.
