The Crash Loop
If Google Chrome experiences a critical error, runs out of memory, or if your computer abruptly loses power, the browser will attempt to “help” you the next time you open it. By default, Chrome displays a small dialog box asking if you want to restore your previous session. In some configurations, or if you use the “Continue where you left off” setting, Chrome might automatically reload every single tab that was open during the crash. While convenient if the crash was caused by a power outage, it is disastrous if the crash was caused by a malicious website or an incredibly memory-heavy tab. Automatically restoring that tab will immediately crash Chrome again, throwing you into an endless loop.
How to Change Your Startup Settings
The first line of defense is ensuring Chrome is configured to always start with a clean slate, rather than attempting to pick up where it left off.
1. Open Google Chrome (if you can).
2. Click the three vertical dots in the top-right corner of the window.
3. Select Settings.
4. In the left-hand sidebar, click on On startup.
5. Ensure that the radio button is set to Open the New Tab page (or a specific set of safe pages).
6. Do not use the “Continue where you left off” setting if you are experiencing crash loops.
How to Force a Clean Start via Command Line (Windows)
If Chrome is stuck in a loop and crashes the exact second you open it—preventing you from reaching the Settings menu—you can force it to open a completely blank tab using a command-line flag.
1. Ensure Chrome is completely closed (check the Task Manager via Ctrl+Shift+Esc to kill any lingering Chrome processes).
2. Press Win + R on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box.
3. Type the following command exactly as written (including the space and the two hyphens):
chrome.exe --incognito
4. Press Enter.
This forces Chrome to open in Incognito Mode, which completely ignores saved sessions, extensions, and crash recovery data. From here, you can safely navigate to your settings, clear your browsing data, or disable the extension that was causing the crash.