Google Chrome instability

[Will T.]

A few weeks ago my comp was attacked by one of those super-aggressive bad web links, which scrambled my user settings in Google Chrome - reset my homepage, redirected a lot of commands to load some random search engine I've never heard of, etc. I cleaned everything up pretty quickly, but Chrome was not unaffected: it now crashes almost 100% of the time when starting up (it will appear to do nothing on first startup, then when I try to open it again it comes up with the "Chrome did not shut down correctly" message), and it will ocasionally crash to desktop while I'm browsing. I've tried reinstalling it twice, but it made no difference. It should be noted that I did not uninstall it when reinstalling - just re-ran the installer.

Should I just wipe Chrome entirely and install it clean? How can I save my bookmarks, new tab page, and other personal stuff if I choose to do that, if I can at all? I can't figure out how to export/import bookmarks in Chrome. Is there a different solution that doesn't require removing it and restarting from the beginning?

[Uber!]

A clean re install would be best. To back-up bookmarks, type "chrome://bookmarks/#1" (no quotes) in the address bar. Then click "Organize", then "Export Bookmarks to HTML File". To import bookmarks you do the same thing but click "Import Bookmarks From HTML File" instead. I'm not sure about the stuff on the new tab page. Those are just links to websites or web apps so you could probably get those back easy. I don't know a way to recover saved passwords.

[Fingolfin]

If you're like me and let Google manage your life, you can "sync" all your bookmarks and extensions. Sign in to your Google account under the options menu. In the settings tab the first option should be something about sync options, and you can set what it saves. Then just fresh install and sign back in. Now whenever you log into a Chrome browser it will pull all your bookmarks and settings and such with you (it WON'T delete them if you sign out, I don't think).

Of course there are concerns about Google tracking everything you do, etc., etc., but I, for one, welcome our new Google overlords.

[Plinko]

I, for one, welcome our new Google overlords.

[Cpt._Keyes]

I, for one, welcome our new Google overlords.

google will show me the way and the light...
...but most especially the way

[FragFailure]

I just switched from Firefox to Chrome. The difference is astounding!

[Dirty Dan]

This is slightly unrelated but chrome to me is increasingly unstable. I originally switched off of firefox because of instability with it, but Chrome has been crashing for me more and more - and on multiple machines.

[The Domer]

I just switched from Firefox to Chrome. The difference is astounding!

I used to run Firefox too. Chrome is noticeably faster and I like the minimalist feel.

[M's]

To keep this train derailed, I've never had a problem with Chrome.
Although I still have to use IE for a few sites I visit, due to the government not wanting to improve it's self.

[Larry]

I, for one, welcome our new Google overlords.

I had a friend that switched from IE to Chrome after like forever, his face looked like he just discovered El Dorado. I told him "Come my child, let the Google into your life, don't fight it."

[Will T.]

Well today I finally got fed up with Chrome's crashing and uninstalled/reinstalled it (with much struggling, as apparently whatever the attack-page planted in it wasn't about to let go without a fight). At the same moment that Chrome was uninstalled, MSE immediately started reporting several instances of adware on my system that it had not previously been able to find. Coincidence?

Hopefully things will be running smoothly now with a clean install. I didn't even lose my bookmarks or saved passwords!

[Will T.]

Two weeks later ...

At first, doing a clean install of Chrome seemed to improve things. However, it has quickly escalated back to - and beyond - its original level of crashiness. I'm lucky if I can get through 15 minutes without it crashing. It even crashes while just idly displaying a webpage.

Is this a fatal bug that Google is somehow too blind to notice, or is this something I can correct on my end? I'm tempted to switch browsers altogether at this point, except that the alternatives are still awful for their own reasons (Firefox lacks vital features I use regularly, and Opera is the most sluggish thing I've ever seen; never mind IE or Safari).

Any recommendations for my next course of action?

[Uber!]

I have no idea Will. Maybe there might be conflicting software on your computer. Type "about:conflicts" in the address bar and see if it finds anything. Other than that, I got nothing.

[The Spanish Inquisition]

http://www.chromium.org/for-testers/enable-logging

You'll need to create a shortcut, then add the logging flags to the end in the Target area of the shortcuts properties page.
"C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome SxS\Application\chrome.exe" --enable-logging --v=1

I'm using Chrome Canary here, the development build of chrome. You might try that on it's own instead. The log file will get pumped out at C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome SxS\User Data\chrome_debug.log and then you can look at it with an editor to see where it choked.

[Boss Llama]

The one time I ever installed Chrome, it BSOD'd my system and corrupted my OS within a day, requiring a full new Windows installation. That was when Crome was still new, so I should give it another try, but I'm leery of it. Dunno if there is some random glitchy incompatibility with an obscure piece of hardware, or just bad luck.