Google Chrome Out of Memory Crash: How to Fix

Sadique Hassan•Updated Jul 3, 2023

In this guide, we will show you various methods to fix the Google Chrome Out of Memory Crash. When it comes to web browsers, then there’s no denying the fact that the offering from the Silicon Valley giant is probably the best in this domain. However, one can also not deny the fact that it tends to hog an astronomical amount of system resources.

This in turn not only slows down the browser, but it tends to have an adverse impact on the overall system. This problem has been going on for ages, and we are only able to get a slight breather before the issue re-appears. And this is exactly what is happening as of late. Beginning with version 104, there have been quite a few instances of Out of Memory errors with Chrome.

When that happens, the browser suddenly closes and relaunches it after a few seconds. Going through numerous user reports on the Chromium Bugs page, we found out that most of these crashes tend to happen when the browser consumes 2GB or more of RAM. Moreover, on paper, the issue could be affecting other Chromium-based browsers as well.

However, as of late, we haven’t come across any issues with other Chromium browsers [such as Edge, Opera, Vivaldi, etc]. With that said, there does exist a few nifty workarounds that shall help you fix this Google Chrome Out of Memory Crash. So without further ado, let’s check them out.

Table of Contents

How to Fix Google Chrome Out of Memory Crash

It is recommended that you try out each of the below-mentioned workarounds and then see which one spells out success for you. So with that in mind, let’s get started.

FIX 1: Restart Chrome Processes

Your first course of action should be to restart Chrome and all its processes. Doing so will give it a fresh instance to work upon and this, in turn, might rectify the underlying issue as well.

Close the Chrome browser and bring up the Task Manager via Ctrl+Shift+Esc shortcut keys.
Then scroll to Background Processes, select all the Chrome processes, and hit End Task.
After that, go to the Details tab, select all the chrome.exe processes and click End Task.
Now launch Google Chrome and check if it fixes the Out of Memory Crash.

FIX 2: Restart Services via Chrome Task Manager

Chrome comes with a built-in Task Manager that lists out all the running browser services and processes as well as the total CPU and RAM they are consuming. With the help of this data, we will be able to get hold of those services that are consuming more than the permissible level of system resource, and hence they will then be disabled. So proceed with the below steps to try it out:

Launch Chrome and use the Shift+Esc shortcut keys to open its own Task Manager.
Then select all these services that are leaking high memory footprints.
Finally, hit the end process button to stop those services.
Now check if it fixes the Google Chrome Out of Memory Crash.

FIX 3: Disable Preload Pages

Chrome automatically preloads a few web pages that it thinks you might visit at a later date. It does so based on the cookies that it had collected and based on your browsing history. However, this feature has more drawbacks than benefits as it ends up consuming necessary storage space as well as crucial system resources, with the only benefit being that you would be able to view these pages a few seconds earlier. So with the caveats outweighing the perks, it’s better to keep this feature disabled, which could be done as follows:

Launch Chrome and head over to the below location
```
chrome://settings/cookies
```
Now scroll to Preload pages for faster browsing and searching and disable the toggle next to it.
Check if it fixes the Google Chrome Out of Memory Crash.

FIX 4: Disable Chrome Extensions

It’s n hidden secret that extensions contribute a lot towards memory consumption. One major reason for that is the fact that it is continuously running in the background while you are working in the browser environment in the foreground. So you could consider disabling these extensions at regular intervals and letting the browser cool down a little bit.

Once that happens, you may re-enable the disabled extensions. However, if the extension shoots up the memory resources every time you enable it, then it’s better to remove it from the browser and look out for its alternatives. Here’s how all of this could be carried out:

Bring up Chrome’s Task manager via Shift+Esc shortcut keys.
Then check out the Memory Footprints of each extension and note down the name of the one that is exceeding its limit!
After that, head over to the below location:
```
chrome://extensions/
```
Now disable the toggle next to the extension that you need to disable.
On the other hand, to uninstall an extension from Chrome hit the Remove button.
Now verify if these tweaks managed to fix the Google Chrome Out of Memory Crash.

FIX 5: Flush Chrome DNS

Chrome stores the data related to the websites you visit in its Domain Name Server. But if a lot of data gets stored in this record book, then it could slow down the loading of the websites as well have negative consequences on the browser as well. Therefore, consider deleting these data and let the browser repopulate them from scratch the next time you visit that site.

So launch Chrome and head over to the below location:
```
chrome://net-internals/#dns
```
Then click on the Clear Host Cache button and wait for the process to complete.
Now check if it fixes the Google Chrome Out of Memory Crash.

FIX 6: Disable Chrome’s Hardware Acceleration

The Hardware Acceleration feature checks the prowess of your PC’s CPU as well as GPU and if it finds the latter’s processing capability to be much more than the formers, then it allocates the browser’s functionality to the latter aka GPU. But it is still a debatable topic as to how GPU could eclipse the CPU in this aspect, and hence the general advice is to disable this feature. Here’s how it could be done:

Launch Chrome and head over to the below location
```
chrome://settings/system
```
Then disable the toggle next to Use hardware acceleration when available
Now check if it fixes the Google Chrome Out of Memory Crash.

FIX 7: Delete Chrome Data

If a lot of browser data gets accumulated over the due course of time or if the stored data gets corrupted, then it could spell trouble for the entire functioning of the browser. Therefore, you should consider deleting the cookie’s data as well as its cached files. So refer to the below instruction steps to try it out:

Launch Chrome and head over to the below location
```
chrome://settings/clearBrowserData
```
You may also use the Ctrl+Shift+Del shortcut for the same.
Now checkmark Cookies and Other site data and Cached images and files.
Finally, hit the Clear Data button and wait for the process to complete.
Once done, verify if it fixes the Google Chrome Out of Memory Crash.

FIX 8: Delete Chrome User Profile

Chrome stores all the browser-related data inside the C Drive. If any of this data gets corrupted, then its repercussions will have to be faced by the entire browser environment. Therefore, you should consider deleting this Profile data and letting Chrome re-populate it from scratch from your Google Account. Do note that this will delete bookmarks, favorites, site settings, cookies, and all the locally saved data (which you could easily get back after signing in with your Google account).

Open File Explorer via Windows+E shortcut keys and go to the below location:
```
%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data
```
Copy this User Data folder and paste it somewhere else (it will act as a backup).
Now delete this User Data folder from the Chrome directory.
Check if it fixes the Google Chrome Out of Memory Crash.
If it doesn’t, then paste the User Data back to the Chrome directory to get all your data back and then move over to our next fix.

FIX 9: Reset Chrome

If the browser settings and configuration files get corrupted, then the best course of action is to reset the browser to its factory default state, exactly how it was when you first downloaded it. This will remove all the customizations and will revert it back to its original state. So proceed with the below steps and give it a try

Launch Chrome and head over to the below location:
```
chrome://settings/resetProfileSettings?origin=userclick
```
Then click on Reset Settings in the confirmation dialog box.
Now restart your browser and check if it fixes the Google Chrome Out of Memory Crash.

FIX 10: Reinstall Chrome

If none of the aforementioned methods worked out in your favor, then you have no choice but to uninstall and remove all the browser files from your PC and then install its fresh build. Doing so generally resolves all the browser-related issues and there is every chance that it would rectify the current issue as well. So let’s put it to the test right away.

Bring up the Run menu via Windows+R shortcut keys.
Then type in the below command and hit Enter:
```
appwiz.cpl
```
Now select Chrome from the list and hit Uninstall. Wait for the process to complete.
Once done, head over to the Chrome official site and download its latest version.
Then proceed with the on-screen instructions to install it onto your PC.
Once installed, launch the browser and you shouldn’t face any performance-related issues now.

FIX 11: Increase Chrome’s Memory Limit

Google has set a memory limit of 512MB for 32-bit and 1.4GB for 64-bit systems for its browser. You might consider it to be sufficient enough for a browser, however, Chrome is no normal browser! Therefore, let’s increase this memory limit and check out the results. As of now, we will be increasing its limit to 4GB memory for a 64-bit system. You make this RAM allocation selection based on the total physical RAM that your PC has.

Head over to the Start Menu, search Chrome, and click on Open File Location.
Then right-click on the Chrome.exe file and select Properties.
Now under the Shortcut tab, go to the Target field and add the following value at the end:
```
-max_old_space_size=4096
```

The Target field should now look something like this:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --max_old_space_size=4096

Finally, hit Apply > OK to save the changes. It should fix the underlying Chrome issue.

So with this, we round off the guide on how you could fix the Google Chrome Out of Memory Crash. We have listed eleven different methods for the same. Do let us know in the comments section which one spelled out success for you. Likewise, all your queries are welcomed in the comments section below.

UPDATE: Fix Google Chrome ‘Aw Snap! Error code: Out of Memory’

Many Chrome users are once again getting bugged by the ‘Aw Snap! Error code: Out of Memory’. What is intriguing to note is the fact their PC does have sufficient free RAM, so this false positive error only tends to make the matter worse. Fortunately, we did manage to find the culprit, which is the McAfee WebAdvisor extension. So uninstall this extension from the browser and it should rectify the Chrome’s Out of Memory error.