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2 Ways to Fix Google Chrome Not Opening on Mac

Quick Tips
  • The classic tech remedy! Try quitting and reopening Chrome, and if that fails, restart your Mac entirely. 
  • Sometimes, a stuck Chrome process prevents it from launching. Use Activity Monitor to identify and close any lingering Chrome processes.
  • A swarm of open tabs can overwhelm Chrome. Close any unnecessary tabs or consider using a tab management extension.

Preliminary Fixes

  • Make Google Chrome open at startup: Open System Preferences > select Users & Groups > slide to Login Items > select + icon > select Google Chrome > hit the Add button.
  • Update or reinstall Google Chrome: Google frequently releases updates to add new features and bug fixes to Google Chrome. To do so, click on the three-dot icon > click Settings > navigate to About Chrome.

Fix 1: Free RAM and Try Again

macOS comes with a memory swap function to utilize SSD storage as RAM. But even a memory swap might not be sufficient to free up RAM on Mac.

Step 1: Open Activity Monitor using Spotlight Search on your Mac.

Step 2: Click on the Memory tab.

Click on the Memory tab

Step 3: Select apps you no longer need and hit the X mark to free up RAM.

hit the X mark

After you have sufficient RAM on your Mac, open Google Chrome and enjoy an ideal web-browsing experience.

Fix 2: Clear Google Chrome Data

Step 1: Open Finder > select Go in the menu bar.

Step 2: Select Library.

Select Library

Step 3: Double-click on Application Support to open it.

Double-click on Application Support

Step 4: Select the Google folder.

Select the Google folder

Step 5: Delete the Chrome folder by right-clicking on it and choosing Move to Trash.

choosing Move to Trash

Step 6: Select the Apple icon in the menu bar > reboot the Mac.

There you go. You should be able to open Google Chrome on Mac without any issues. If Chrome is still not opening on Mac, switch to Microsoft Edge, Opera, or Brave to enjoy your existing extensions (as they are all based on Chromium).

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Last updated on 30 May, 2024

1 Comment

  1. Hello. After the latest upgrade google chrome looks be opening then just closes out after showing a blank screen for a few seconds. Never been a problem before. I have done all of the above but not working plus gone back to older chrome versions and the beta version and under a different ID. Any other solutions you can think of? On Mac OSX 10.15.7 on a iMac 21.5″ late 2013.

    Tx
    Andrew Holmes

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