Google Chrome is the most used program to visit web pages and surf the Internet. This browser is characterized by being extremely easy to use. You don’t even need to go into its settings to start browsing web pages. However, like all software, it can fail on occasion, and the problems with this browser range from crashes and unexpected closings to error messages that allow us to load any website.
The reasons why Google Chrome can fail are very varied. We may have a problem with the browser configuration, it may be that some extension is affecting the correct functioning of the browser, it may be a problem with the operating system configuration, and even that the failure is in the remote server that hosts the web and that, therefore, does not load.
Fix problems in Google Chrome
Although Google Chrome can fail for many reasons, we are going to see a series of “tricks” with which we will be able to solve most of the problems that may appear in the browser.
Remove extensions
Extensions are very useful to give the browser additional functionality that is not available as standard. But these small applications are also responsible for our browser running slow, consuming a lot of RAM and even for errors in its configuration. Therefore, if we are experiencing any problem, the first thing we should try is to disable them.
To do this, the first thing we must do is write in the address bar: chrome: // extensions / . And, in the window that will appear, deactivate all of them from the switch next to each of them.
Once deactivated, we close the browser, reopen it and check if the errors have been fixed or continue to appear.
Disable flags
Flags are a type of Google Chrome configuration that allows us to enable experimental functions and features. These functions are often unstable and can give us problems. Therefore, if we have ever activated any of them we will have to restore it to its default value to avoid problems.
To do this, we will write chrome: // flags in the address bar, and we can either deactivate them all one by one, or click on “Reset all” to revert them all to their default values.
As in the previous point, we restart the browser and check if the problems have been solved.
Check antivirus and firewall
The problem may not be in the browser itself, but in external software that is affecting its operation. And the most common programs are the antivirus and the firewall . If either of these two security problems is detecting a threat in the browser, it will be blocked and, therefore, you will not be able to connect to the Internet. We have to verify that Chrome is indeed not blocked by the antivirus or that the firewall is blocking its connections and, if so, manually unblock it so that it can connect to the Internet.
Reset browser settings
Chrome offers users a basic configuration, which usually does not interfere with the general functioning of the browser, and an advanced configuration that allows you to modify other parameters that, if configured incorrectly, can give us problems.
Although we can always review all these values one by one, the fastest way is to reset these settings to restore the factory settings of the browser. To do this, we write the following in the address bar: chrome: // settings / resetProfileSettings , we confirm the restoration and that’s it.
Now Chrome will be as freshly installed, and there will be no problems with the settings.
Review Windows proxy and internet settings
Of course, it can also happen that the problems are related to the Internet settings and the Windows proxy settings. The quickest way to check if the problem may be related to these settings is to try browsing with another browser, such as Edge or Internet Explorer. If we surf well, and we have access to the Internet, this is not the cause. If these browsers don’t work either, then there we have the problem.
In case of having connectivity problems , the first thing we will have to do is check that we are connected to the Internet, either by Wi-Fi or by cable. And then check that we have a valid IP address that allows us to navigate without problems.
We can see the different Internet configuration options and the Windows proxy from the ” Settings> Network and Internet ” section. Here we will be able to see the different Windows configuration options for the network connection and for the operating system proxy.
We must adjust it according to our connection. The normal thing is to activate DHCP to receive the IP directly from the router, and deactivate the use of proxy.
Update Chrome
Another quite common reason why we may be having problems when we try to navigate with Google Chrome is due to the use of an outdated version of the browser. Either due to the lack of support for certain protocols, or due to a specific failure of an old version, we must also keep the browser updated . The updates are normally downloaded by themselves, but we can check it from the Help> About Google Chrome section , checking that we are up to date and that the automatic updates work correctly.
We can also manually download the latest version of Chrome from this link .
Chrome errors
Oh no! o Wow!
This is a critical browser error. It usually appears when a serious failure occurs with the data in memory or with the process. When this error appears, there is usually nothing to do. We have to completely close the browser and reopen it. If we are lucky, we can restore all the tabs that we had open, so the impact will be minimal.
ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED
As the name suggests, this error tells us that the destination web server is rejecting connection attempts. However, usually the why is not stated, so we cannot know exactly what happened.
One of the most common reasons for this error message is because the web is down. If the server is down, or is overloaded, we can see this message when rejecting our connection attempt. It may also be that the DNS of our operator has this website blocked, so we will have to try another (such as 8.8.8.8, Google’s) to access it.
But it may also be that the web has an IP restriction activated and, therefore, our connection in particular is being blocked by a firewall. To solve the latter, what we must do is connect them through a proxy, or a VPN, to try to enter from another region and with another IP. We can also try to visit the web from the Tor network.
Downloading proxy script
This error message usually appears at the bottom of the browser. It is very common for it to appear when, for some reason, the network from which we were browsing has been changed. For example, it may appear if we change from Wi-Fi to 4G on a mobile phone (or the other way around), or when we are connected to a different Wi-Fi network while browsing the network.
This problem is more a failure of Windows itself than of Chrome. Therefore, to solve it we have to go to the “Settings” section of Windows 10, under “Proxy” and disable the “Automatically detect settings” option.
When you do, this message will no longer appear. And, if we do not use a proxy to navigate, it will have no impact on the performance of the PC.
ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED
This error message appears when the URL of the web we are trying to visit cannot be resolved. This can be due to several causes:
- DNS. The most common. Indicates that the URL could not be sent to DNS to obtain its IP. It may be that the DNS is down. So the quickest way to fix it is to change your PC’s DNS to something else, like 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare’s) or 8.8.8.8 (Google’s).
- Wifi. This usually indicates that there is a conflict with our wireless connection. It may be due to a bad connection, the use of outdated drivers, the lack of drivers …
- IP or router. If we have an IP conflict, or the connection is not working correctly, not having direct connectivity to the Internet this error message may appear.
ERR_INTERNET_DISCONNECTED
This error message indicates that we do not have an Internet connection. Obviously, the only way to fix it is by checking our connection and connecting again either to a wired network or to a Wi-Fi network.
ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT
This message tells us that the connection is taking too long to load. It may be because our Internet connection is very slow, or because the server has problems. We have to check if we are correctly connected to the Internet, and try to make the web load, in one way or another, with the F5.
ERR_CONNECTION_RESET
Message that appears when, while we were loading the page, something has cut the Internet connection. It may have been due to a failure in the Wi-Fi signal, a specific error, a router crash, a program … We have to reload the page to try to download it again.
ERR_NETWORK_CHANGED
This error code can appear when our PC has unexpectedly disconnected from the network, or if a connection change has occurred while the web page in question was loading. The way to fix it is usually by refreshing the page.
ERR_CACHE_MISS
If there is a problem when sending the cache to the remote server we will see this error message. What it tells us is that the page needs us to resend information that we had previously entered. We do and it should continue without a problem
ERR_EMPTY_RESPONSE
This error message appears when we had to receive information from the server or web page in question, but, nevertheless, we have not received anything. We will have to reload it and make the request again to try to receive the expected information.
ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR
Error message indicating that the web page has sent SSL requests that Chrome does not understand. It is usually related to a remote server configuration problem, so we will not have much to do about it.
BAD_SSL_CLIENT_AUTH_CERT
When the website we are trying to visit is trying to establish a secure connection, but the client uses the wrong SSL certificate. For security, the connection is blocked until a valid certificate is used.
Other error messages in Chrome
In addition to the above, other error messages that may appear while browsing are:
- Unable to access a website.
- A website won’t open.
- HTTPS website won’t open.
- A photo is not uploaded.
- A tab is not loaded.