When you’re watching a video or visiting a website in your Chrome browser, the video unexpectedly stops or you’re unable to click anything on the webpage? You’re not the only one experiencing this “Chrome keeps freezing” issue. Many people have reported it. But don’t worry, for all possible causes of the problem, there’re also many possible fixes for it.
Try these fixes
Here are 6 fixes that have helped many other users get Chrome working again. You may not have to try them all; just work your way down the list until you find the one that works for you.
- Clear your browsing data
- Disable your extensions
- Update your drivers
- Reset Chrome settings to default
- Disconnect and reconnect your Internet
- Uninstall and reinstall Chrome
Fix 1: Clear your browsing data
A quick fix for “Chrome keeps freezing” would be clearing browsing data. Doing so can remove any nasty cookies that might be causing Chrome to freeze. Here’s how to easily clear your browsing data in Chrome:
- At the top right in Chrome, click the three dots > More tools > Clear browsing data.
- From the Basic tab, set the Time range to All time, and select all the checkboxes below.
- From the Advanced tab, set the Time range to All time. Verify Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, Cache images and files are selected.
- Click Clear data.
- When the data is cleared, type chrome://restart in the URL bar then press Enter to restart Chrome and check if the problem is resolved. If not, try Fix 2, below.
Fix 2: Disable your extensions
Extensions are also known to cause Chrome to freeze. Sometimes they may have compatibility issues with your Chrome browser. You can disable all your extensions in Chrome and see if this solves your problem.
- Type chrome://extensions in the address bar and press Enter.
- Toggle off all extensions to disable them.
- Restart Chrome and test if it works properly. If not, try Fix 3, below.
Fix 3: Update your drivers
Missing, corrupted or outdated device drivers, especially graphics drivers, may also stop Chrome from working properly. So you should make sure all your drivers are up-to-date.
There are two ways to update your drivers: manually and automatically.
Update your drivers manually — You can update your driver manually by going to the hardware manufacturer’s website and searching for the latest driver. But if you take this approach, be sure to choose the driver that’s compatible with the exact model number of your hardware, and your version of Windows.
OR
Update your drivers automatically — If you don’t have the time, patience or computer skills to update your driver manually, you can, instead, do it automatically with Driver Easy. You don’t need to know exactly what system your computer is running, you don’t need to risk downloading and installing the wrong driver, and you don’t need to worry about making a mistake when installing. Driver Easy handles it all.
- Download and install Driver Easy.
- Run Driver Easy and click Scan Now. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any problem drivers.
- Click Update next to any flagged devices to automatically download the correct version of their drivers, then you can install them manually. Or click Update All to automatically download and install them all automatically. (This requires the Pro version – you’ll be prompted to upgrade when you click Update All. You get full support and a 30-day money back guarantee.)
- Restart your computer and check if Chrome now works properly. If it doesn’t, contact Driver Easy’s support team at support@drivereasy.com for further assistance. They’d be happy to help you. Or you can move on to Fix 4, below.
Fix 4: Reset Chrome settings to default
If Chrome conflicts with some other program on your computer, it may also cause Chrome to freeze. You can reset Chrome to its default settings to better troubleshoot the problem.
- At the top right in Chrome, click the three dots > Settings.
- At the bottom, click Advanced.
- Under Reset and cleanup, click Reset settings to their original defaults > Reset Settings.
- Relaunch Chrome and check. If the problem still exists, move on to the next fix.
Fix 5: Disconnect and reconnect your Internet
Some users have reported that the Chrome freezing problem may be caused by an Internet problem — when they by chance disconnected and reconnected their Internet, Chrome worked again. You can also give this a try.
- You can simply click the Network icon on the taskbar, then select Airplane mode to turn it on.
- A few seconds later, select the Airplane mode again to turn it off.
- Restart Chrome to check the issue.
Fix 6: Uninstall and reinstall Chrome
If none of the above worked for you, reinstalling Chrome is also worth a try — you can first go to Control Panel to uninstall Chrome, then download the latest version of Chrome from its official website.
If you have any question or suggestion, please feel free to leave a comment below.