Google Chrome has a huge chunk of the Windows browser market. It conquered the realm by being “Google” and has created a sort of monopoly that’s very difficult for any browser to breach. But as of now, its optimization on Windows has been subjected to a lot of criticism. Users are complaining about its sluggish behavior, frame drops, and lagging issues.
Google Chrome lagging and slow to open
Google Chrome is not perfectly optimized to work on Windows, but there are some workarounds and things you can do to make it work better and in this article, we are going to see just that.
Why does my computer lag when I open Chrome?
Google Chrome is known to hog resources, especially when many tabs are open. If your computer is running slow when the browser is open, it could be Chrome tabs that are using a lot of RAM.
Before moving any further, we recommend you update Windows OS as well as your Chrome browser and see if that helps in any way. You should also observe if your computer is lagging and slowing down along with the browser, then you may need to actually first optimize your computer for better performance and fix the issue.
How do I fix lag on Chrome?
If Google Chrome has started lagging a lot and is slow to open down in Windows, then here is what you can do to make it faster!
- Disable Extensions
- Enable or Disable Hardware Acceleration
- Clean Malware
- Clear Browsing Data and Cache
- Reset Chrome.
Let us talk about them in detail.
1] Disable Extensions
We are notorious for adding unnecessary extensions to our browsers assuming that one day we will use them. Well! it’s time to declutter your Chrome browser and make it run faster and smoother.
The reason why extensions might end up making your browser crawl is that they eat a ton of RAM and eventually, because of lack of memory, your browser slows down. So, to disable the extension, you can follow these steps.
- In Chrome, click on the three vertical dots > More tools > Extensions.
- You can click on the Remove button to disable a particular extension.
Now, restart the browser and check if the issue persists.
2] Enable or Disable Hardware Acceleration
Hardware Acceleration is a feature that allows your GPU to take over certain tasks that your CPU is having a hard time dealing with. So, if you have a powerful GPU, enable Hardware Acceleration, otherwise, disable it.
To enable or disable Hardware Acceleration, follow the given steps.
- Click on the three vertical dots > Settings.
- Go to Advanced > System.
- Use the toggle to disable “Use hardware acceleration when available“.
Now, restart the browser and check if the issue persists.
3] Clean Malware
A lot of users don’t know that malware can cause a particular app to slow down. Chrome has this feature that will detect harmful software on your computer and will clean them. So, we will be using it to fix the issue.
Following are the steps to use the Chrome cleanup tool.
- Click on the three vertical dots > Settings.
- Go to Advanced > Reset and clean up.
- Click Find from the “Find harmful software” section.
Wait for it to complete the task, restart your computer and Chrome, and check if the issue persists.
Random post: Turn Off The Lights – Browser extension to dim browser background.
4] Clear Browsing Data and Cache
Another thing you can do to fix the error is to clear the Browsing Data and Cache. Clearing them is pretty simple, you just have to follow the given steps.
- Click on the three vertical dots > Settings.
- Go to Privacy and Security > Clear browsing data.
- Check all the boxes and click Clear data.
Finally, reboot your computer and check if the issue persists.
5] Reset Chrome
If nothing helps, you may need to reset your Chrome browser.
That’s it!
You will be able to fix the Chrome issue with these solutions.
Read: Google Chrome is Freezing or Crashing on Windows computer.
Use Microsoft Edge instead of Chrome
Microsoft Edge Chromium is as good as Chrome if not better. It has all the required features and works perfectly with Windows computers. I personally have opted for Edge when my Chrome started slowing down. So, if you are a Chrome user, you won’t feel alienated while using Edge as both of them are based on Chromium.
Read next: Fix Chrome high CPU, Memory, or Disk usage.
